Consider plausibility of report

The whistleblowing report will need to be sufficiently specific and plausible to justify initiating an investigation.

If the whistleblower has given contact details, contact the whistleblower to obtain as much further information as possible.  The more specific the whistleblower can be, the more focused the investigation can be.  In addition, contacting the whistleblower will enable a better assessment of their plausibility

However, in this case study, the whistleblower has reported anonymously, so cannot be contacted. 

It may be difficult to follow up an anonymous report, unless the report is reasonably specific.  In this case, the report is sufficiently specific to enable a reasonably focused investigation.

Consider the plausibility of the report.  Is it sufficiently plausible to justify opening an investigation?  In this case, the report seems to be sufficiently plausible to at least justify the opening of an initial investigation.

The following pages suggest steps that the investigator could take in the investigation.