Transcript Interview and interrogation 101

For the AGA Winter Seminar 2013
Presented by Detective Heather Baltz
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Interviews and interrogations both have a
similar goal of gathering information from
people by talking and interacting with them.
Interviews are laid back and nonconfrontational.
Interrogations are confrontational and more
assertive, and are used only when someone
demonstrates deception or is non-cooperative.
Every interrogation starts with a thorough
interview.
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Discuss interview techniques and
characteristics of good interview practice.
Talk about logistics to consider: when, where,
who, and in what order to proceed when it
comes to interviews.
Discuss hallmark traits of deceptive subjects
and how to tell when someone is lying to you.
Review interrogation techniques to get that
deceptive person to be honest with you.
We know this person has information we
need to gather.
We need to determine if the information
the person is providing is reliable, accurate
and credible.
We need to lock the person into a story for
sourcing of information later (either for
reports or testimony).
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Where do I conduct the interview?
When do I do the interview?
Who goes first when I have 15 people on my
list?
Important because it sets the tone.
Options: His house? His workplace? The company
parking lot? Over the phone?
Get him on YOUR TURF!
Where you interview someone is also important
because you don’t want distractions. A simple, plain,
private room is best.
Always go for your most knowledgeable, most
cooperative person first. Gather the most reliable
information you can so you know the most details
possible before going after a guilty party or
someone you suspect will be dishonest. You will
have more confidence and leverage.
NEVER EVER EVER interview two people at the
same time. EVER!
Interviews are laid back. Your demeanor and
personality will influence this interview
profoundly. Be nice and approachable and build
rapport with the subject. Make that person
comfortable and put them at ease.
WHY????
Interviews are you asking broad questions and
them providing information.
You talk 20 percent, you LISTEN 80 percent!
Take notes to control your pace. If you take notes,
you are listening, not interrupting. Remember:
you are gathering information from this person,
not providing it.
A study done by Fisher, Geiselman and Raymond indicated that more
often than not an interviewer asked a follow-up question within one
second of the witness completing their answer to the previous
question. There were occasions where the interviewer began asking
the next question before the witness had finished answering the
previously asked question. When an interviewer asks questions
speaking rapidly and in rapid succession, there is a negative effect on
the witness’ memory recall. With this in mind, the interviewer should
slow their pace of asking questions and allow for a pause between
answer and next question.
RC Anderson; SCIIT, Inc. “The Cognitive Interview Process”
If the person you are interviewing has a problem
giving detailed information or is being noncooperative and short with you, this is a huge red
flag.
 Is he hiding something?
 Is he lying about something?
 What is making him nervous?
 Why is giving information a problem if he did
nothing wrong?
How do we know when a person is lying?
 Watch them.
 Listen to them.
 Listen to your gut instinct.
 Evaluate the situation as a whole.
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Is he nervous and fidgeting?
Is he avoiding eye contact with you?
Is he sweating profusely and asking for a
break?
Is she rocking back and forth in her chair and
talking really fast?
Is he laughing at inappropriate times?
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Is she answering the question you asked or
diverting to another topic? REDIRECT HER!
Is he giving strong or passive statements? Does
he speak with conviction and confidence?
Is she talking about every detail about
everything except for the incident at hand?
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You are smart enough to know when someone
is lying to you.
Is this person giving you the run-around and
are you getting frustrated?
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Does this person appear forthcoming and
honest?
Does this person have reason or motive to lie?
Is he making contradictory statements to
information I have already gathered?
Is he avoiding conversation about the incident
or topic at hand?
HONEST SUBJECT
Stop here! You’re done.
Shake this person’s hand,
thank them for meeting
with you, and tell them to
have a nice day.
LIAR, LIAR
Put your mouth guard in.
It’s time to step into the
ring. Let the interrogation
begin!
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Interrogating a guilty or lying person is an art
of manipulation and patience.
You have a toolbox of different tactics to use.
Keep trying until you find the right one.
Practice makes perfect. Learn what works for
you. What works best for some may never
work for others.
Always keep professionalism a priority. Never
say something you wouldn’t want a courtroom
full of people to hear!
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Now it is your turn to talk. Put your pen down
and focus solely on the subject. You are in
control and will explain why he needs to take
your advice and cut the crap.
You have him locked into a story at this point
and can use all those statements he made in the
interview phase against him.
So how do I do
this?
1. Get comfortable being blunt and assertive with
people. You HAVE to be able to tell someone you
think they are lying and why you think they are
lying.
2. After you tell them why you think they are
lying, explain that ANY reasonable person would
look at this situation and think they were lying.
3. Tell them they have an opportunity to tell you
what’s really going on so that they don’t look
foolish later.
Most interrogation techniques are based on
minimizing the seriousness of the accusation.
Convince the subject it is understandable why she
did it.
 “It’s not like you were absent for half of the
meetings: you only missed 3 or 4, right?”
 “You were put in a really bad situation. I can
understand why you felt like you had no other
choice.”
 “It’s not like you held a gun to his head; you
guys just got in a scuffle in the break room.”
 “This is really no big deal. I see this type of
thing all of the time.”
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It is hard to admit you are a thief. It may be
easier to blame your actions on something else.
We are going to provide excuses for the subject
to latch on to so it is easier for him to admit
wrongdoing.
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“You are trying to support your family?”
“You did it because someone else told you to?”
“You had the intention of paying it back all along?”
“You got in way over your head and got scared?”
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Keep offering excuses and minimizing the
offense until they respond. When you think
that the subject is responding to a certain
excuse as to why they did it, stick with that
theme.
Watch for body language to change. Lowering
the head or display of emotion are strong
indicators that you are making progress.
Give them opportunity to confess or change
their story.
Finally, give them opportunity to apologize or
recognize their guilt. “You had to have known
it was wrong, didn’t you?”
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Never interrogate children. They are easily
swayed and are naturally agreeable to leading
questions. Statements children make under
pressure can be unreliable.
Documentation is always a great idea. Write
direct quotes when typing your summary.
Det. Heather Baltz
Metro Nashville Police Department
Sex Crimes Unit
[email protected]