BRACE Character Profile™

INTERVIEWING & INTERROGATION

NEGOTIATION & PROFILING

for

Law Enforcement

APPLIED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

copyright © 2005Russell L. Smith, M.S.BRACE™ Analysiswww.BRACEanalysis.com

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301.0 Paranoid Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Maximize similarities ...– Take your time ... do not rush– Be consistent and predictable– Make communications clear

and matter-of-fact– Be direct, honest, simple, but

totally in charge & powerful– Sit facing, don’t stand– Keep facial expressions to a

minimum & non-threatening

Distrust & Suspiciousness

301.0 Paranoid Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Maximize differences– Rush ... interrupt ... imply– Be inconsistent/unpredictable– Mumble, misuse words, drop

your voice at key times– Whisper, be sarcastic– Walk behind, leave the room– Smirk, grimace, look at

windows/wall/forehead– Switch eyes

Distrust & Suspiciousness

301.20 Schizoid Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Do not take indifference or

lack of emotions personally– Be direct & clear– Be calm and matter-of-fact – Give extra time to respond ...– Later give a chance to write– Loner with few interests;

discover & talk about– Do not be surprised at

detailed, easy confessions

Detached & Restricted

301.20 Schizoid Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Focus on social relationships,

any and all kinds; get details– Talk about family,

neighborhood, school, and ask about team sports

– Attempt to engage in some interactive activity

– Just be engaging and then leave the room ... come back and start over

Detached & Restricted

301.22 Schizotypal Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Often feel they, have special

powers, are superstitious, believe in paranormal. Let them explain. See how it fits.

– Expect interacting to be awkward, off key or strange

– Do not show disapproval– Be clear, tolerant, supportive

Discomfort, Distortions & Eccentricities

301.22 Schizotypal Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS – Get physically close to– Ask about social life, friends– Challenge any strange or

unusual statements– Comment on inadequacies– Add the same as for

Paranoid ... whispering, exiting room, walking behind, looking at one-way mirror, etc.

Discomfort, Distortions & Eccentricities

301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Will present self as justified, a

victim of others or circumstance ... do not reject, leave an open door

– Indicate understanding how anyone can make a mistake

– Show what’s in it for them– Indicate job dissatisfaction

Disregards and Violates Rights

301.7 Antisocial Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Act confident and indifferent– Challenge statements about

rights and responsibilities– Be protective of victims name,

rights, situation– Press the “facts” of the case– “Awfulize” everything– Play on noncompliant and

oppositional tendencies

Disregards and Violates Rights

301.83 Borderline Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Be engaging, but “with them”– Join their point of view– Let them reinforce you– Indicate care and concern for

their well-being. Set limits.– At hints of self-injury, set the

limits according to policy and then be the one to “rescue” within policy guidelines

Unstable & intense, identity problems, impulsive, SIB ...

301.83 Borderline Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Be aware of their fear of

abandonment ... being left alone ... having no one to care

– Tell them to grow up, get a life– Keep the focus in the present

and on their behavior, their choices, their responsibilities

Unstable & intense, identity problems, impulsive, SIB ...

301.50 Histrionic Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Explore feelings and reasons

for current emotional state– Give them lots of attention– Give them center stage– Expect them to flirt– Be a strong authority figure– Show protective concern– Do not expect much depth

Emotionality and Attention Seeking

301.50 Histrionic Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Interrupt by asking for

explanations, details, examples ...

– Actively compete for center stage ... restrict “acting-out”

– Minimize the importance of feelings

– Make others involved more important

Emotionality and Attention Seeking

301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Show respect, admiration, and

be easily impressed– “Understand” their special

abilities and attributes– Present yourself as important

and having “connections”

Grandiosity, Need for Admiration, Lack of Empathy

301.81 Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Do not cater to in any way– Relate to with indifference– Comment on their negative

characteristics– Belittle their achievements– Portray them as ordinary,

common, and dull

Grandiosity, Need for Admiration, Lack of Empathy

301.82 Avoidant Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Provide protective structure– Be a source of safety/security– Be sensitive to social anxiety– Find something to be positive

about and use non-threatening questions

– Minimize criticism, disapproval, and rejection

Social Inhibition, Feelings of Inadequacy, and Hypersensitivity

301.82 Avoidant Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Be critical– Display willingness to belittle

and humiliate others– Display an arrogant disregard

for the feelings of others– Vaguely hint that they will

become the center of negative attention ... be evaluated, etc.

Social Inhibition, Feelings of Inadequacy, and Hypersensitivity

301.6 Dependent Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Be assertive but protective and

supportive– Be confident and full of

knowledge about their situation

– Listen and display a willingness to take charge

Submissive and clinging ... excessive need to be taken care of

301.6 Dependent Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Be vague, inconsistent, and

ask complex and confusing questions

– Be impersonal and unfriendly– Indicate a lack of concern for

their present or future– Accent the negative and focus

on their having to go it alone

Submissive and clinging ... excessive need to be taken care of

301.4 Obsessive-Compulsive

Personality Disorder

• GOOD COP– Be matter-of-fact and confident– Give short, precise answers

and ask short specific questions

– Be neat, clean in manner and speech

– Provide clear structure

Preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control

301.4 Obsessive-Compulsive

Personality Disorder

• BAD COPS– Be messy in dress, unkempt in

appearance– Create an impression of

disorder and lack of concern for precision and detail

– Be ambiguous and inconsistent in advice, behavior, and emotions

Preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control