False Confessions: The Issues to be Considered

Jun 01, 2021

False Confessions – The Issues to be Considered

In this document we discuss the primary causes of and contributing factors to false confessions, and the Best Practices to follow to...

Parental Abuse Interviews in Human Trafficking Investigations

Feb 03, 2021

Among the interviewing challenges faced by human trafficking investigators is the issue of parental abuse of a trafficking victim. How does an investigator approach this topic?

When suspicion arises that the...

The Use of the Baiting Technique

Jan 11, 2021

November / December 2020

(Please Note: If you wish to print and share an Investigator Tip with your colleagues, the John E. Reid 'credit and permission' statement following the article...

25 Reid Video Tips

Jan 11, 2021

September October 2020 Investigator Tip

The September/October 2020 Investigator Tip provides you with links to 25 brief video presentations from our YouTube channel - The Reid Technique Tips, that...

What questions should I ask during the investigative interview?

May 26, 2020

What questions should I ask during the investigative interview?

In an effort to assist investigators in determining the type of investigative and behavior provoking questions to ask during an interview...

Telephone Interviewing Techniques Part Two

Mar 01, 2020

March/April 2020

(Please Note: If you wish to print and share an Investigator Tip with your colleagues, the John E. Reid 'credit and permission' statement following the article must be...

Telephone Interviewing Techniques Part One

Jan 01, 2020

Telephone Interviewing Techniques Part One

Certainly the ideal circumstance for an investigative interview is a face-to-face meeting with the subject. However, due to a variety of factors, it is becoming more and...

Personality Disorders

Sep 01, 2019

(This Investigator Tip consists of selections from a chapter in our book, The Investigator Anthology)

Part One

While both psychologically healthy and psychologically impaired individuals can be guilty of a crime, in...

Direct questioning and its role in counterintelligence investigations

Jul 15, 2019

Reprinted with permission from Blue line magazine; written by Philip A. Mullenix

While driven by logic, direct questioning is an art-form that requires creative thought and methodical application

Counterintelligence agents and counterpart law...

The Non-Confrontational Approach

Apr 16, 2019

The Non-Confrontational Interview

John E. Reid and his colleague, Northwestern Professor of Law Fred E. Inbau, developed the non-confrontational interview as an integral part of any questioning of a subject in...

The Hillen Credibility Factors

Mar 01, 2019

Several government agencies use the Hillen Credibility Factors to help their investigators and decision makers assess the veracity and credibility of a subject’s statement, particularly in instances where there is one...

The Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI)

Jan 01, 2019

Research has demonstrated that brain functions and memory of victims of trauma, such as a sexual assault, are significantly affected by the event, and as a result, their behavior and statements may...

A Description of The Reid Technique

Nov 01, 2018

The Reid Technique is oftentimes just thought of and is frequently referred to as simply an interrogation process - it is much more than that. The Reid Technique is a structured interview...

The Value of Behavior Provoking Questions - A Case Study

May 01, 2018

The investigative interview process in the Reid Technique is called the Behavior Analysis Interview (BAI). The BAI consists of three types of questions: Initial Questions designed to develop biographical information, establish rapport...

Clarifying Misrepresentations About Law Enforcement Interrogation Techniques

Mar 01, 2018

Over the years social psychologists, defenses attorneys and some academicians have offered a number of criticisms of current law enforcement interrogation practices, and, in particular, the Reid Technique. Some of these criticisms...

Factual Analysis

Nov 01, 2017

Factual analysis can be defined as estimating the probability of a suspect's guilt or innocence based on investigative findings. Each investigator uses factual analysis to narrow the scope of suspects - to...

Cognitive Interviewing

Jul 01, 2017

Cognitive Interviewing

Cognitive interviewing is a memory retrieval procedure designed to enhance recall when interviewing a victim or witness. Unlike hypnosis, which involves placing the subject in an altered state of consciousness...

Using Open-ended Questions During the Investigative Interview (Part 2)

May 01, 2017

(See the March April 2017 Investigator Tip for Part 1)

Evaluating the Response to an Open Question

When relating an incident such as being the victim of a robbery or...

Using Open-ended Questions During the Investigative Interview (Part 1)

Mar 01, 2017

When evaluating an account, such as what happened to a victim, a suspect’s alibi, or what a witness saw or heard, the investigator should elicit this information by asking an initial open-ended...

Over 300 What's new page entries

Aug 01, 2016

p> Over the last 14 years we have posted over 300 entries on our "What's New" page at www.reid.com. For this July/August Investigator Tip we have listed many of them that you...