Interviewing and Interrogation

Lesson Overview:How are crimes solved? When someone

makes the decision to talk to the police Influenced by the

communication skills of the interviewer

The Communication Process: The Berlo SMCR Model For an interview to occur:

A person initiates the interaction (the source) A person receives and interprets the means

(the receiver) Meaning is conveyed through our 5 senses

Receiver/DecoderChannelsChannels

Source/Encoder

Smell

MessageAnd

Feedback

Smell

Taste Taste Touch

See

Hear

See

Touch Hear

Receiver/DecoderChannelsChannels

Source/Encoder

Smell

MessageAnd

Feedback

Smell

Taste Taste Touch

See

Hear

See

Touch Hear

Purpose of the InterviewThe purpose of

the interview is to gather information. Approximately

80% of police investigative work consists of interviewing!

Characteristics of an InterviewNon-accusatoryPurpose is gather informationShould be conducted early in the investigationVariety of environmentsFree flowingMay need to take notes

Categories of Persons to be Interviewed:

Victim A victim is the person

who is the object of an incident, crime, or other harm caused against them.

These interviews are influenced by prejudice, anger, pain, and fear in addition to age, gender, cognitive abilities, and fear of disclosure.

Categories of Persons to be Interviewed: Witnesses

A witness is someone who personally sees, hears, or otherwise observes something relating to the incident under investigation.

Eyewitness evidence is notoriously inaccurate, incomplete, and unreliable.

Categories of Persons to be Interviewed: Suspects

A suspect is the person that the police officer has reasonable cause to believe committed a specific crime.

In addition to sharing the same influences as the victim, a suspect has consequences to fear!

The Definition of Interrogation An interrogation is an

exercise in persuasion with the goal of eliciting a truthful confession. Persuade: to

influence or gain over by argument, advice, or entreaty

Elicit: to draw out or entice forth

Purpose of the Interrogation It is meant to

encourage the suspect to provide evidence of guilt or involvement in an event.Sought by the

interrogator is a confession or admission.

ConfessionA statement made

by a defendant disclosing his or her guilt of a crime with which he was charged and excluding the possibility of a reasonable inference to the contrary.

“I killed her”

Admission An acknowledgement

of guilty conduct containing only facts from which guilt may or may not be inferred.

Ex. “Is this your car?”

“Yes.”

“This was the car used in a robbery recently”

Characteristics of an InterrogationAccusatoryInvolves active persuasionPurpose = learn the truth!Controlled environmentSuspected guiltNotes are not initially taken

Personal Qualities of the Interviewer

The process of successful interviewing includes: Putting aside personal prejudices and biases Developing a genuine curiosity Having a positive attitude A willingness to develop rapport Becoming knowledgeable Being professional

Rapport Development Rapport is the

communication that results when two people agree on the means and willingness to communicate.

Knowledgeable Keeps asking

questions and continues to learn from each case

Does not make judgments based on past encounters that were similar

Knows that the answers must be learned from the circumstances and will only come through listening and watching

Professionalism Demands that each

investigation begins without case bias or preconceived notions about the victim

Requires patience and persistence

Is the capacity to demonstrate respect for others

Communication for RapportCommunication

includes both verbal and non-verbal messages

Information communicated is about 65% non-verbal

Verbal communication is about 35% of information related

MatchingMatching is a

subtle form of the interviewer mimicking the nonverbal and paralanguage behaviors of the person being interviewed.

Kinesics Kinesics is a form of

non-verbal communication that includes: Body language Facial

expressions Gestures

Matching Kinesic CommunicationsWhen two people are communicating effectively

their body language will be alignedFacial expressions include both conscious and

unconscious movement of the nose, lips, eyebrows, tongue, and eyes

When an interviewer attempts to develop rapport defensive signals need to be overcome in order for the interview to proceed effectively

Examples of Facial ExpressionsEyebrows frown for anger or concentration and

rise for intensityPupils of the eyes get larger during fear and

smaller during restLips may move into a grin to show happiness,

grimace for fear, or pout to indicate sadnessWide eyes typically indicates surprise or

excitement; narrowed eyes indicate disagreement or a threat

Examples of Gestures Rubbing one’s ear is an indication the person does not know

the answer to a question Swaying backwards in the chair points to an individual with a

weak ego Crossing of the arms is a defensive posture, the person has

become cautious

Proxemics The study of our use

of space and how various differences in that use makes us feel more relaxed or more anxious

Proxemics Spacing Intimate space 0 to 1.5 feet

Personal-casual space 1.5 to 4 feet

Social-consultive space 5 to 10 feet

Public space 10 feet and

beyond