WHEN TO MAKE NOTES CONTEMPORANEOUSLY
What are contemporaneous notes?
Notes made at the time or shortly after an event or incident
Contemporaneous notes can include:
- Notebooks
- Diaries
- Minutes
- File notes/running sheets
Notes should be made contemporaneously. This is defined as an accurate record, made at the time, or as soon after the event as practicable. It is a record of relevant evidence which is seen, heard or done, by the maker of the note.
EVIDENCE ACT 1995 - SECT 72
Exception: Contemporaneous statements about a person's health etc.
(The hearsay rule does not apply to evidence of a representation made by a person that was a contemporaneous representation about the person's health, feelings, sensations, intention, knowledge or state of mind.)
When these entries are made at the time of the event or as soon as practicable after the event, they are more likely to be accurate as the events will be fresh in the writer's mind and the notes will appear more accurate if challenged. This is not always possible in some situations. For example, an investigator conducting covert surveillance would be foolish to produce a tape recorder or a pen and paper in full view of a subject. In such an event, the notes should be made as soon as practicable after the event. The investigator should then include a note of the reasons for making the notes at a later time.
How long after the event should contemporaneous notes be written?
'..the freshness of memory as a matter of fact and not
the relationship to time..'
R v. Van Beelen (1972) SASR 534 at 537
'..cannot be fresh in memory after 24hours has transpired..'
ALRC 26 Vol 1, pars 421, 665-668
A file note is a record of some action undertaken by an Investigator-for example, it may be a note of a meeting with someone, a note of a conversation, or a note of a physical activity such as inspecting a document. A file note is usually more narrative in nature than contemporaneous, and may be made up from contemporaneous notes. While file notes are usually made after the event, their validity depends on their being made while events are still fresh in the memory of the inspectors.
This resource is kindly provided by Wayne Carney of SPECIAL OPERATIONS GROUP AUSTRALIA.