Forensic Investigation (Crime and Intelligence Analysis Option)

This course provides practice in written and oral communication skills used in forensic science and investigation careers. The emphasis is on explaining technical material in plain language and communicating investigation results in reports and presentations. The course also includes techniques for e-mails, letters, reports, and for making oral presentations. Students prepare a professional job application and LinkedIn profile and examine strategies for maintaining their online reputation as professionals.
Prerequisite(s):

• 6 credits of COMM 1100 level or above, or 3 credits of university/college writing course.

This is a course in advanced composition and rhetoric, in which students will develop skills in complex critical analysis and interpretation by analyzing and evaluating materials from a variety of discourses or genres, including visual, online, and print; developing and writing essays, including critiques and research papers; applying and discussing principles of rhetoric and critical theory; examining and using methods of interpretation and analysis from the humanities and social sciences; evaluating the credibility of primary and secondary sources, including as it applies to media literacy, and for the purposes of academic research; situating discourses within their historical context and relevant to rhetorical theories of different periods (for example, Aristotle in the ancient world and Bakhtin in the twentieth century). The course format will include lecture, discussion, and both individual and group activities.
Prerequisite(s):

• BCIT ENGL 1177 or equivalent, or 6 credits BCIT Communication at 1100-level or above, or 3 credits of a university/college first-year social science or humanities course.

Fosters abilities and values required for ethical decision making at work. Develops skills in logical analysis, a working knowledge of moral principles and theories, and the ability to diagnose and resolve moral disagreements commonly found at work. Examines and applies moral principles to historically famous cases in manufacturing, human resources, management, engineering, health care, and computing.
Prerequisite(s):

• BCIT ENGL 1177, or 6 credits BCIT Communication at 1100-level or above, or 3 credits of a university/college first-year social science or humanities course.

There are two management concepts that have historically tended to produce very successful outcomes when applied to any endeavour, including conducting complex criminal or civil investigations. These concepts, using the strength of teams and project management, each have followers. The focus of this course will be to expose you to both concepts to enable you to develop and experience an organized approach to any type of investigation.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

The Canadian criminal justice system is an adversarial system which pits the accused person against the State. The adversarial process follows a well-defined series of procedural steps from initial complaint to verdict and sentencing. This course provides a detailed examination of the legal procedures that govern criminal proceedings in Canada including the tendering of evidence by both Crown and defence, with a particular emphasis on issues applicable to forensic investigators and technicians.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

Forensic evidence is subject to all the general rules related to the admissibility of evidence in the criminal trial process and is also subject to certain unique rules of scrutiny. This course examines the fundamental laws of evidence within the adversarial process and provides a context for the expert in their role as witness.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7001

Through a practical exploration of the stages of a mock investigation and consequent trial, this course illuminates the vital role forensic evidence plays in criminal proceedings. The course will put particular emphasis on issues relating to the admissibility of forensic evidence and the evidentiary weight that results from the manner of identification, isolation, collection, and analysis of such evidence. Students working as members of an investigative team will locate and gather evidence, interview witnesses, identify a suspect, and formulate a theory of culpability. At a subsequent mock trial, each student will be examined by Crown and defence counsel on their role in the investigation.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7002

In this course, you will learn how to apply quantitative and qualitative research methods to crime and intelligence data. It covers topics such as measuring variables, assessing the reliability and validity of acquired intelligence, data preparation and coding, and statistical analysis of quantitative data. You will apply these methodologies and perform a number of simple, though powerful, analyses to describe data and reach conclusions based on these data. This course aims to develop your analytical skills to be a more knowledgeable practitioner, consumer, and evaluator of quantitative and qualitative social science data. These analytical methods will be instructed in the context of the COMPSTAT method of crime analysis as used in contemporary Canadian policing.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will introduce you to the range of thinking skills and reasoning abilities that are essential to crime and intelligence analysis. You will examine the nature of knowledge and develop your abilities to think reflectively, critically, and logically. This course also covers many approaches to the task of discovering truth. A variety of structured analysis models will be used in conjunction with critical thinking to explore the basis of analysis.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will introduce you to geographic information systems (GIS) and discuss how GIS software programs can be used for crime investigation and intelligence analysis. Even if you have no experience with GIS software applications, you will learn how to create a basic map. You will explore the various applications of GIS in both crime analysis and intelligence analysis. Using that information, you will then create intermediate-level maps that are commonly used in crime investigations and intelligence analysis. The course includes various exercises to help you learn how to use visualization and spatial analysis technologies in order to detect criminal patterns and to forecast the probability, time, and location of future criminal events.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will assist you in the visualization of large amounts of data to advance your organization's tactical and strategic mandates. The course builds upon FSCT 8431 by expanding your knowledge of spreadsheets to an intermediate level. You will learn how to build macros in spreadsheets for the purpose of building a dashboard. You will then learn how to use data visualization applications to develop basic graphs and maps, and to complete trend analysis.​
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8431

This course focuses on the various duties of a tactical analyst assigned to transnational and domestic organized crime group activity. You will learn how various crime networks and groups operate by reviewing past cases of criminal activity. You will apply various structured analytical techniques, at various stages of the crime or intelligence cycle, to several types of organized crime activities that operate outside and within Canada. You will use software to analyze and visualize your analysis, and develop logically sound arguments for investigation and intelligence purposes. You will use realistic data to test your analytical abilities during various assignments.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8436
• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course introduces the types of criminal investigations that are completed at municipal police departments. You will apply various structured analytical techniques and software applications used at various stages of the Crime Analysis Cycle to support crime-reduction initiatives and criminal investigations. You will learn how to prepare crime maps, charts, crime bulletins, and effective written reports, using software programs used in Canadian law enforcement.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8431 and 60% in FSCT 8432 and 60% in FSCT 8434
• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course will introduce you to the various structured analytical techniques that are commonly used throughout the Crime Analysis Cycle as it is applied in Canadian violent crime investigations. You will learn the best practices in analytical software, techniques, and methods used by analysts in major case management for violent crimes, such as homicide, serious assaults, sex offences, extortion, kidnapping, and missing persons. You will also learn how to collect and evaluate publicly available information when completing analytical tasks for crimes of violence.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8436

This course will explore crime and intelligence analysis that relates specifically to ideologically motivated national security issues. Using various Canadian case studies, you will examine analytical methodologies used during investigations relating to terrorism, criminal extremism, foreign influence, and insider threats. You will then conduct applied research and apply structured analytical techniques to prepare reports on individuals, groups, and networks who pose a threat to national security. The course provides an overview of the Canadian intelligence national security community. The purpose of this course is to give an overview of the subject matter, after which you apply your analytical skill set to a real-world topic.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8436

This course focuses on the creation of strategic analysis products used by organizations to plan future initiatives relating to their mandate. The course provides you with an in-depth study of strategic analysis methodologies and their applications to crime and intelligence analysis. You will learn of various structured analytical techniques used to develop operational intelligence and strategic intelligence analysis products that are useful in decision-making support of organizational mandates.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8430

This course will provide you with the latest techniques used to effectively gather online information for investigative purposes relating to persons, companies, and other assets. You will be introduced to the methods of gathering online intelligence through social media platforms, search engines, and dark web searches. In addition, you will learn how to assess potential counter-intelligence concerns. Particular emphasis will be placed on heightened awareness and the “paper trail” investigators may leave behind when using internet investigation tools. Approaches to maintain privacy and security when carrying out online investigations will also be explored and a variety of online search methodologies introduced.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

This course introduces the field of cybercrime and develops a core understanding of the intelligence and analysis challenges of working in the cyber environment. Topics include defining cybercrime, technology as a target, technology as an instrument, and evolving/emerging cybercrime threats. You will develop an understanding of the digital environment, hacker subculture, cyberstalking, data theft (identity, trade secrets, etc.), phishing attacks, hate crimes, credit card account thefts, malicious software and various applications.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

​This course covers how to create and analyze big data sets from open source information for strategic intelligence tasks relating to government, NGO, and industry crime and intelligence mandates. You will learn methods to organize and analyze structured and unstructured open source information to facilitate informed decision-making. You will engage in data exploration by using web-scraping software, and then use Structured Query Language (SQL) to define and manipulate that data. You will review the methodologies used to develop models for assessing possible future scenarios for the purpose of producing recommendations on possible outcomes, including national security threats. Using a number of problems and case studies, you will build, assess, and deploy different models to gain insights into the data. You will learn predictive analytics methodologies to test inferences, which will reduce the likelihood of false positive and false negative predictions. You will discuss the ethical and legal considerations when using various methodologies to collect, store, analyze, and report on predictive analysis.​
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8438

This course is intended to develop advanced research and analytical skills. It will focus on the theory of inquiry; the logic, reality, and structure of investigative enquiry; and data analysis, methodologies of measurement models, and reporting of results. Emphasis will be placed on data-gathering and statistical techniques. You will be introduced to multivariate statistical analysis techniques, using SPSS for application in the law enforcement and forensics fields. Various models of measurement, including quantitative, qualitative and data-mining techniques with hands on data sets, will be covered. Groups will be required to prepare a mini research project using all the statistical applications covered in class.
Prerequisite(s):

• Admission to a Forensic credential program or permission of the Program Coordinator.

Under the supervision of the graduation project research methodologist, faculty mentor(s), and industry subject matter expert, you will build upon the project concept initiated in FSCT7910 and complete a theoretical or applied independent research proposal. The course will focus on research themes relevant to your chosen areas of specialty in forensic investigation. You will conduct a comprehensive literature review, prepare a research design and protocol, validate the measurement model(s), conduct reliability and validity studies, and undertake a pilot study to ensure measurement instrument reliability. The research proposal should be innovative, experimental, or explanatory in nature to demonstrate the practical application of knowledge and skills. It should be comprehensive, covering all the operational aspects of the project and the measurement instrument to be employed. The research models employed and the research protocol followed will be well articulated and defined. This course will be focusing on building a foundation that leads to FSCT8621, Graduation Project 2.
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 7910
• Completion of all framework courses and all specialty courses or permission of program coordinator.

​In this capstone graduation course, under the supervision of the course instructor, you will implement the graduation project proposal developed in FSCT 8611. You will apply the chosen research methodology and collect the requisite data needed to answer the research questions of interest. At defined intervals, you must present in writing to the course instructor. At the end of the course, you will prepare a formal research paper (akin to a scientific publication), a research poster and an oral presentation. The poster and the presentation are expected to clearly highlight the research questions posed, the model of measurement utilized, data analysis, and key research findings.​
Prerequisite(s):

• 60% in FSCT 8611