One stop interrogation & interviewing resource

[jmm99]

The basic dichotomy is between the Interview (get information) vs the Interrogation (get confession). The former more closely resembles direct witness examination; the latter more resembles cross examination.

Starting with the basics,

Interview Techniques (~30 min.)

1997 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center gov.ntis.ava20440vnb1 VP-023-97 Federal Law Enforcement Training Center - This video depicts an effective law enforcement interview using the five general stages: Introduction, rapport, questioning, summary, and close.

Since the UK author mentions it, let's look at the Reid Technique of interviewing and interrogation (Wiki)

Here's a sampling of Reid's four major points (about an hour total)

Interview & Interrogation Part 1

Interview & Interrogation Part 2

Interview & Interrogation Part 3

Interview & Interrogation Part 4

My opinion is that the Reid methodology (as to verbal cues and body language) includes some witchcraft and alchemy; but that opinion may derive from having been a student of Yale Kamisar, and not of Fred Inbau and John Reid.

Finally ...

Don't Talk to Police (~50 min.)

A law professor explains how talking with police can get you convicted of crimes you're completely innocent of. The professor gives a long-time police officer equal time to rebut. The officer not only agrees with the professor, but reveals a few "tricks of the trade" that officers use in interrogations to convict people whether they're guilty or not.

A fun video - the lawyer missed his career opportunity as an auctioneer. The cop steals the show. BTW: The cop is an "interviewer", not an "interrogator".

Regards

Mike

[slapout9]

Reid has been around a good while but some newer stuff is starting to filter into Police World.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnhph4d5frM

[davidbfpo]

There is a new thread 'Douglas Starr on Reid and PEACE techniques', which started in December 2013, although it's focus is LE interview techniques, it sits better merged here. So in a moment this post will be preceded by a number of posts. I have also moved this thread to the LE forum, from RFI.

[Firn]

To be honest I was never much interested into the show the press made of the tragic murder of Meredith Kercher. It even escaped me that a third person has been convicted her murder and only knew the name of the 'sexy' American suspect.

This post is certainly not about guilt or innocence, however it is interesting to notice that quite objectively many factors of this case and its interrogations share traits with mentioned study cases in which false confessions were obtained. Her youth, the lack of a lawyer, the repeated questioning, the status as 'witness', the (quick) denial of the confession and the position as foreigner with a lack of support and language skills are all tendencies pointing in the same direction. Even if we discount the use of mild physical violence, which is not unheard of in Italy, and the likely use of lies a false confessions seems to be a strong possibility. There is of course only quite flimsy physical evidence supporting the prosecution and the words of man which with practically no doubt committed the murder and which sentence got almost halved after the first conviction of the pair as murderers.

Like in many questionable American case the interrogations were not captured by video or recorder and the forensics were handled quite shoddily.

I might add that in Italy the public opinion has bee rather split, at least to the votes for comments on the website of the Corriere. Lots of emotions and plenty of people who think that the Italian justice system has made itself a fool in the eyes of the world. As I wrote before I have no idea what happened but it was worth to quickly look at the case with some science in mind.