Interview and Interrogation

Training and Standards Bureau 2

Course Objectives

• Difference between Interview and Interrogation

• How to conduct an interview

• Eyewitness ID procedures

• How to conduct an interrogation

• Electronic recording requirements

• Factors that lead to false confessions

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 3

IntroductionHow are interviews and interrogations different? Similar?

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 4

Interviews• Victims and Witnesses

• Goal is to find out as much info as possible

• Put the victim or witness at ease

• Friendly, loosely structured, and non-confrontational

• Focus is to get person to tell you what happened

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 5

Interrogations• Suspects

• Goal is to establish the suspect’s guilt

• Controlled and Directed

• May involve the suspect at a psychological disadvantage

• You must advise suspect of legal rights

Both are a search for the truth!December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 6

Good Interviewers Are:• Inquisitive

• Observant

• Energetic

• Good Communicators

• Problem Solvers

• Patient

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 7

Interviews• Process begins when you arrive at the scene.

• ID victims and witnesses and separate them.

• Interview them.

• Goal is to get information about crime.

• Corroborate information with evidence.

• How you interview is important.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 8

Sequence of Interviews

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 9

Preparation and Planning• Planning – the mental process of getting ready

to interview someone.

• Preparation – considering what needs to be made ready prior to conducting the interview (location, environment, administration of interview).

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 10

Preparation and Planning• Know your agency policy and guidelines.

• Locate all info, details, and actions to date.

• May need to provide support for victim.

• Interview format.

• Control environment

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 11

Engage and Explain - Goals• Introduce yourself.

• Encourage victim/witness to take an active role.

• Set the tone for the interview.

• Explain what is going to happen and what you need from victim/witness.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 12

Minimize Anxiety and Establish Rapport• Introduce yourself; shake hands if appropriate

• Speak calmly and slowly

• Keep language simple

• Ask how person wants to be referred to (name, title and name, etc.)

• Use person’s name during interview

• Address any concerns or needs

• Reassure personDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 13

Convey that Info is Important

• Tell the victim what he/she has to say is important.

• Valued people will talk more.

• Encourage person to tell you everything they know, even if it seems trivial.

• Tell person to ask you if he or she doesn’t understand something.

• Take your time and be patient.December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 14

Addressing the Victim/Witness• Elderly / People with professional titles

• Use person’s name not “victim” or “witness”

• Watch person’s non-verbals

• Document quotes

• Electronically record statements?

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 15

Explain the Process

• Explain the interview process.

• Express your expectations.

• Remind person you will be taking notes.

• Afterwards, you may ask follow-up questions or ask person to repeat all, or part, for clarification.

• Summarize what was said to check interpretation.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 16

Account Clarification and Challenge• Goals:

– Obtain person’s uninterrupted account.– Expand and clarify his/her account.

• Let person describe what happened ( with no interruptions).

• Just listen the first time through.

• Go through account as many times as necessary.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 17

• Do not interrupt

• Allow pauses

• Use active listening skills

December 2011

Account Clarification and Challenge

Training and Standards Bureau 18

Questions• Use open-ended questions.

• Avoid leading questions.

• Attempt to put a time-frame around event.

• Do not ask if willing to testify in court.

• Do not expect person to have same observation skills as officers.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 19

Questions• Who?

• What?

• Where?

• When?

• Why?

• How?

• How Much?December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 20

Closure Goals• Do not rush the closing.

• Agree on what was said.

• Is that all?

• What will happen now?

• Keep lines of communication open.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 21

Closure• Review your notes.

• Double-check understanding.

• “Is there anything else I should know?”

• Close the interview.– Encourage victim to contact you.– Instruct victim to avoid discussing details.– Thank victim/witness for cooperating.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 22

Evaluation• Objectives achieved?

• Review the investigation in light of the information from interview.

• Reflect on interview and consider how to improve in the future.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 23

Documenting Interviews• Take good notes.

• Consider recording interviews.

• Local DA’s office can advise you.

• Follow agency policy and procedure.

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 24

Types of Victims and Witnesses• Friendly

• Neutral

• Interested

• Hostile

• Child

• Vulnerable

• TraumatizedDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 25

Credibility Assessment• Physical mannerisms

• Credibility of his or her story

• Appropriateness of conduct

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 26

Maintaining Contact• May need to contact victim/witness again

• May need to spend time building rapport again

• Review info you have and ask for new info

• Do not provide info from other sources

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 27

Eyewitness Identification• Often provides the best lead

• However, primary cause of wrongful conviction

• The accuracy of eyewitness evidence is based on the procedures used to collect it

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 28

General Principles of Memory• We do not capture exact images in our

memory

• The brain rebuilds the memory of a witnessed event

• Eyewitnesses can be led to remember things they did not actually see

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 29

Initial Interviews• Focus on keeping actual memory separate from

other sources of information

• Avoid questions that suggest something specific

• Avoid giving positive feedback to witness

• Keep witnesses from discussing incident with each other

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 30

Factors that Affect Perception• Light, distance and length of viewing

• “Weapon focus” phenomenon

• Race

• Stress

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 31

Photo Arrays and Live Lineups• Select non-suspect fillers

• Use a “double-blind” procedure

• Show witnesses photo arrays or lineups one at a time (sequentially) rather than all at once (simultaneously)

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 32

• Tell witness real suspect may or may not be in photo array or lineup

• Assess eyewitness confidence

• Avoid multiple identification proceduresDecember 2011

Photo Arrays and Live Lineups

Training and Standards Bureau 33

Show-Ups• Determine if the procedure is necessary

• Can it be done close to the crime in both time and space?

• Photo arrays and lineups are more reliable

• If probable cause to arrest suspect – no show-up

• State v. DuboseDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 34

Show-Ups• Obtain the best verbal description of the

suspect

• Minimize the suggestiveness of the procedure

• Instruct the eyewitness may or may not be the actual perpetrator

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 35

Facial Composites• When there’s no suspect

• Use them cautiously

• Can taint the eyewitness’s memory

• Use a double-blind procedureDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 36

Suspect Interrogations• More formal and controlled

• Interrogator controls and directs interrogation

• Is structured

• Interrogator may need to be a good actor

• Goal is to establish the truth

• Custodial questioning requires Miranda

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 37

Interrogator Controls Interrogation• You have the psychological advantage in an

interrogation

• Controlled environment

• Emotional or Non-Emotional Suspect?December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 38

Structure and Acting• Compile a list of questions prior to the

interrogation

• Structure your questions to elicit information

• Be flexible, sincere, patient, persistent, and confident

• Not all good interviewers make good interrogators

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 39

Interrogation Goals• To establish the truth

• Guilty or innocent?

• Interrogation preparation takes time

• Must show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 40

Sequence of Interrogations

December 2011

INTERROGATIONS

Training and Standards Bureau 41

Preparation and Planning• Gather as much information as possible

• The more info you have, the more control you have

• The time invested will improve your confidence, ability and save time

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 42

The Interrogation Environment• The interrogation room

• Number of interrogators

• Non-verbal behavior

• Verbal behavior

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 43

Engage and Explain• Introduce yourself

• Encourage suspect to provide you with info

• Set the tone

• Explain what is going to happen and expectations you have of suspect

• Try to build rapportDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 44

Account Clarification and Challenge• First question is vital

• Obtain suspects own uninterrupted account

• Expand and clarify suspect’s account

• Challenge suspect’s account when necessary

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 45

Closure• Review your notes and other materials

• Ask the suspect if there is anything he or she wants to add

• Close the interrogation

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 46

Evaluation• Objectives met?

• Review the investigation in light of information obtained

• Reflect on how well you conducted the interrogation

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 47

Recording Custodial Questioning• Custodial questioning requires Miranda

• Electronically recording custodial questioning

• Miranda = Recording

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 48

Recommendations• Begin recording at the start of the contact until questioning ends

• Audiovisual recording preferred

• Agencies should have written policy

• Document questioning and get written statement

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 49

Exceptions• Recording devices may not work / none

available

• Officer fails to operate device properly

• Device may malfunction

• Person makes spontaneous statements

• Suspect may refuse to speakDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 50

While Recording• Speak clearly and distinctly

• Ensure answers are audible and clear

• Describe non-verbal actions by suspect

• Statements only admissible if made voluntarily

• Not required to tell suspect anything about the questioning

• Remember, suspect is innocent until guilt is proven in courtDecember 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 51

Types of Suspects• Two general categories:

– Emotional Offender

– Non-Emotional Offender

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 52

Non-Emotional Offender• More hardened criminals with experience in

criminal justice system

• Do not like to talk and will try to control their verbal and non-verbal communication

• Methods: Question and answer, narrative, alibi, factual, good/bad cop, retelling

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 53

Resistance from Suspects• Anticipate resistance – have a plan

• Goal is to gain info or confession – not a power struggle

• Use your knowledge of the case to your advantage

• Anticipate suspects responses and have a plan

• Read the suspect and find triggers that cause him or her to talk

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 54

False Confessions• Dispositional Factors

– Personality characteristics

– Youth

– Intellectual impairment

– Psychopathology

• Situational Factors

– Physical custody

– Isolation

– Confrontation

– Minimization

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 55

Summary

December 2011

Training and Standards Bureau 56

QUESTIONS?

December 2011