The Use of an Interpreter During an Interview

Mar 01, 2006

A question that is frequently asked during our seminars concerns the proper use of an interpreter during an interview. This is particularly true when we train military personnel who regularly utilize translators...

The Significance of Identifying Precipitators during a Criminal Investigation

Jan 01, 2006

The first step of any criminal investigation is factual analysis. This describes the process of collecting and analyzing information and evidence surrounding a crime. One of the goals of factual...

The Significance of Specific Denials During Interviews and Interrogations

Oct 01, 2005

Recently, I reviewed a videotaped interview of an 17-year-old suspect who was being questioned about starting a fire that burned down his parent's home. During the interview the investigator asked...

The Use of Follow-Up Questions During an Interview

Jul 01, 2005

The primary goal of an interview is to develop meaningful information from a subject. The first step in this process is to ask the right questions. However, merely...

Developing an Interview Strategy

Mar 01, 2005

Some interviews are free-flowing and spontaneous. Often, these interviews are conducted in an uncontrolled environment such as a street corner, an employee's office or over the telephone. Because the person...

Interviewing Elderly Subjects

Jul 01, 2004

Interviewing techniques presented in textbooks or during seminars generally assume that the person being interviewed is an emotionally healthy and mature individual with a normal IQ. Twenty-five years ago, when...

Investigating Possible Fabricated Claims

May 01, 2004

A recent case involving a University of Wisconsin student who falsely claimed that she was abducted highlights some important characteristics of these investigations. This particular case quickly achieved national attention...

The Presence of a Third Person in the Interview Room

Mar 01, 2004

Ideally, an interview of a suspect, victim or witness should be conducted in a private setting. The most important element of privacy is communicating one on one with the person...

Maintaining Objectivity During an Interview

Nov 01, 2003

An interview is designed not only to collect and gather information but to assess the credibility of the person offering that information. In some instances the investigator will...

Don't Overlook The Person Who Reported The Crime

Jan 01, 2002

A guideline we teach during our seminars is that the first person interviewed during an investigation should be the individual who reported the crime. The primary reason for this is because that...

Interviewing vs. Interrogation

Jun 01, 2001

A concept we teach in our basic course is, "If you're going to interview, interview. If you're going to interrogate, interrogate." There are two important parts of this lesson. The first is...

Question Formulation Guidelines: Part II

Feb 01, 2001

This web tip offers a continuation of the January tip. The emphasis of this information is that how a question is asked often dictates the ease at which a deceptive subject can...

Question Formulation Guidelines: Part I

Jan 01, 2001

Asking questions is one of the first language skills a child develops. However, almost all of our question asking skills are developed under the assumption that the person answering our question will...

Miranda, Article 31 and Constitutional Advisements

Dec 01, 2000

During training seminars frequently the issue comes up as to the best time to advise a suspect of his constitutional rights. There are both legal and psychological considerations in answering this question...

Creating A Temporary Interviewing Room

Nov 01, 2000

In an ideal world, an interview or interrogation would always be conducted in a room specifically designed for that purpose. Most businesses, however, do not have a room set aside for interviewing...

Behavior Provoking Questions: The Punishment Question

Oct 01, 2000

The Behavior Analysis Interview is a structured interview, developed by John E. Reid and Associates, designed to elicit behavior symptoms indicative of truthfulness or deception. The core of the interview consists of...

The Use of Follow-up Questions to Elicit Admissions

Jul 01, 2000

An earlier web tip offered guidelines to interpret a subject's verbal behavior (Sept. 1999). In addition to assessing the truthfulness of a response, verbal behavior also provides insight for asking follow-up questions...

Eliciting and Evaluating an Alibi

Apr 01, 2000

One of the most efficient means to eliminate a possible suspect in a crime is if his alibi proves to be correct. This is only true, however, when the investigator is absolutely...

VERIFYING AN EMPLOYMENT HISTORY DURING A PREEMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW

Feb 01, 2000

It is well established that the best predictor of a job applicant's future behavior is that person's recent past behavior. This is particularly true with respect to their employment history. Has the...

Building Rapport During an Interview

Jan 01, 2000

Interviews in the popular television show Dragnet were often preceded with the admonition, "Just the facts ma'am." The emotional detachment displayed by Sgt. Friday, however, is generally not conducive to eliciting meaningful...