FERNADEZ COLLEGE OF ARTS AND

TECHNOLOGY
COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

CDI3- SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2

Interview and Interrogation techniques

I. INTRODUCTION:
This module discusses the interview and interrogation techniques. Although the
purpose of both interviews and interrogations is obtaining information, the interview is an
informal procedure whereas the interrogation is formally questioning a person with
information about a suspected crime. And also we discuss the different types of
techniques methods.

II. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lecture, you should be able to:
1. Gain some knowledge about the interview and interrogation techniques.
2. Acquaint on the different types of techniques and methods.
Interview and Interrogation Techniques
A vital aspect of working as an investigator is skill as an interviewer Numerous
systems and methods exist for interviewing suspects and witnesses, as well as various
types of interview training.

Reid Technique
For a long time, the Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation has been the
standard for law enforcement and other professionals. This method employs basic human
psychology and skills its creator learned as a polygrapher. Various law enforcement
agencies have adopted the procedures and regularly use them in interviews and
interrogations.

Three components to the Reid method

1. In the factual analysis phase, investigators use available evidence and
testimony to eliminate improbable subjects, develop possible suspects and leads,
increase confidence in identifying truthful or guilty individuals, and identify proper
interrogational strategies.
2.The interviewing stage involves behavioral analysis wherein interviewers
develop rapport and establish baseline behaviors-certain visual and verbal cues that are
normal for the interviewee. Then, they ask behavior-provoking questions to see if the
suspect deviates from these behaviors. If they are leasonably certain that the interviewee
hal committed the crime in question, the interrogation phase begins.
3.During the interrogation phase, investigators make sure to interrupt any
attempt by the suspect to deny guilt. They also provide various themes that allow the
suspect some form of moral justification for committing the crime. Interrogators "steer the
subject toward a confession by offering a face-saving alternative. This process is called
'minimization'-downplaying the moral consequences of the crime without mentioning the
legal ones."Investigators also frequently deploy the "maximization"technique,
exaggerating the available evidence and the seriousness of the potential punishment.
This environment can cause stress to the interviewee and break down any resistance to
a confession.
An interrogation "should only occur when the investigator is reasonably certain of
the suspect's involvement in the issue under investigation." There are nine steps to the
Reid interrogation technique, briefly described below.
1. The positive confrontation. The investigator tells the suspect that the evidence
demonstrates the person's guilt. If the person's guilt seems clear to the investigator, the
statement should be unequivocal.
 2. Theme development. The investigator then presents a moral justification
(theme) for the offense, such as placing the moral blame on someone else or outside
circumstances. The investigator presents the theme in a monologue and in sympathetic
manner.
3. Handling denials. When the suspect asks for permission to speak at this
stage (likely to deny the accusations), the investigator should discourage allowing the
suspect to do so. The Reid website asserts that innocent suspects are less likely to ask
for permission and more likely to "promptly and unequivocally" deny the accusation. The
website states that “it is very rare for an innocent suspect to move past this denial
state."
4. Overcoming objections. When attempts at denial do not succeed, a guilty
suspect often makes objections to support a claim of innocence (e.g.,l would never do
that because I love my job.) The investigator should generally accept these objections as
if they were truthful, rather than arguing with the suspect, and use the objections to further
develop the theme.
5. Procurement and retention of suspect's attention. The investigator must
procure the suspect's attention so that the suspect focuses on the investigator's theme
rather than on punishment. Onę way the investigator can do this is to close the physical
distance between himself or herself and the suspect. The investigator should also
“channel the theme down to the probable alternative components."
6. Handling the suspect's passive mood. The investigator "should intensify the
theme presentation and concentrate on the central reasons he [or she]is offering as
psychological justification...[and] continue to display an understanding and sympathetic
demeanor in urging the suspect to tell the truth."
7. Presenting an alternative question. The investigator should present two
choices, assuming the suspect's guilt and developed as a “logical extension from the
theme,"with one alternative offering a better justification for the crime (e.g., "Did you plan
this thing out or did it just bappen on the spur of the moment?").The investigator may
follow the question with a supporting statement "which encourages the suspect to choose
the more understandable side of the alternative."
8. Having the suspect orally relate various details of the offense. After the
suspect accepts one side of the alternative (thus admitting guilt), the investigator should
immediately respond with a statement of reinforcement acknowledging that admission.
The investigator then seeks to obtain a brief oral review of the basic events, before asking
more detailed questions.
9. Converting an oral confession to a written confession. The investigator
must convert the oral confession into a written or recorded confession. The website
provides some guidelines, such as repeating Miranda warnings, avoiding leading
questions, and using the suspect's own language.
Critiques of Reid Technique
There has been considerable academic research on various aspects of police
interrogation, including whether interrogation methods can lead to false confessions.

Discerning truth or deception

One aspect of the Reid approach is to train investigators to discern when a suspect
is lying (e.g., by analyzing nonverbal behavior during the initial interview). Critics question
whether training can actually lead investigators to do so, and point to various studies
concerning the ability to discern truth from lying. For example, one frequent critic of the
Reid Technique, law professor Richard Leo, argues that extensive social science
research has demonstrated:
that people are poor at making accurate judgments of truth and deception in
general, that the behavior cues police rely on in particular are not diagnostic of deception,
and that investigators cannot distinguish truthful from false denials of guilt at rates
significantly greater than chance, but instead routinely make confidently held yet
erroneous judgements.
Reid and Associates, Inc. argues that many such studies have limited applicability
to police interrogations. For example, the studies may have (1) involved college students
in laboratory settings, with students having low motivation to be believed if innocent or
avoid detection if lying, or (2) been conducted by people not trained to interview criminal
suspects. The company also points to other studies supporting the contention that training
can increase the ability of police to detect when suspects are lying.

False confessions
Critics argue that various features of the Reid interrogation method may lead
certain innocent suspects to confess. For example, one critique arques that "the guilt-
presumptive nature" of the Reid method “creates a slippery slope for innocent suspects
because it may set in motion a seguence of reciprocal observations and reactions
between the suspect and interrogator that serve to confirm the interrogator's belief in the
suspect's guilt" (Moore and Fitzsimmons,)
According to some critics of the Reid Technique, aspects of Reid-style
interrogation that may lead to false confessions include (1) misclassification (the police
attributing deception to truthful suspects); (2) coercion (including psychological
manipulation); and (3) contamination (such as when police present non-public information
to a suspect, and the suspect incorporates that information in his or her confession)
Reid and Associates, Inc. disputes the contention that their methods lead to false
confessions. They argue that: False confessions are not caused by the application of the
Reid Technique...[but instead] are usually caused by interrogators engaging in improper
behavior that is outside of the parameters of the Reid Technique ... such as threatening
inevitable consequences; making a promise of leniency in return for the confession;
denying a subject their rights; conducting an excessively long interrogation;
The company also cites court cases upholding their methods or denying the
admission of expert testimony that would link those methods to false confessions (e.g.,
U.S. v. Jacques, 784 F.Supp.2d 59,D. Mass. (2011)).

PEACE Model
Both the United States and Great Britain recognized the potential for inaccuracy in
pressurized interviewing environments. In 1992, a study of police interviews in Great
Britain found approximately one-third of 400interviews less than satisfactory. This led to
the creation of the PEACE interview technique. PEACE is an acronym for the five steps
of the process.
1.Preparation and planning
2.Engage and explain
3.Account clarification and challenge
4.Closure
5.Evaluation

1. Preparation and Planning.

Interviewers should create a written interview plan, focusing on issues such as the
objectives of the interview and the order of interviews. Among other things, the plan
should include the time a suspect has been in custody, the topics to be covered, and
points necessary to prove the offense or provide a defense. Interviewers should consider
characteristics of the interviewee that could be relevant to the plan (e.g., cultural
background could affect how someone prefers to be addressed). Interviewers may need
to consider practical arrangements, such as visiting the scene or the location of the
interview.
2. Engage and Explain.
The interviewers should engage the individual, including using active listening to
establish a rapport with him or her. The interviewers should explain the reasons for the
interview and its objectives. They should also explain routines and expectations of the
process (e.g., explaining that the interviewers will take notes). Interviewers should
encourage the individual to state anything they believe is relevant.
3. Account.
The interviewers should use appropriate questions and active listening to obtain
the interviewee's account of events. Questions should be short and free of jargon, and
can help to clarify and expand the account. Multi-part questions should generally be
avoided due to possible confusion, and leading questions should be used only as a last
resort.
4. Closure.
This stage should be planned to avoid an abrupt end to the interview. Among other
things, the interviewers should summarize the person's account of events, allowing the
person to make clarifications and ask questions.
5. Evaluate.
The interviewers should evaluate the interview to (a)assess how the interviewee's
account fits with the investigation as a whole, (b) determine if further action is needed,
and (c) reflect on their performance.
• The PEACE model focuses on determining relevant facts, as opposed to seeking
confessions. With this technique, "interviewers are encouraged to be fair and
open-minded and to pursue reliable, true and accurate information."
• While there certainly are similarities between the PEACE and Reid methods,
especially the interviewing phase of the Reid techniques distinct differences exist
in the way interviewers approach subjects. In interviews reflecting the PEACE
model:
• The investigators frequently asked open-ended,leading,and repetitive questions;
disclosed evidence to suspects; and challenged suspect's accounts, often by
pointing out contradictions and inconsistencies. Yet, they never resorted to threats,
promises and intimidation, or the kinds of maximization and minimization tactics
through which threats and promises are often implied.
• To date, the PEACE technique has proven as successful as the Reid at obtaining
confessions from the guilty

Cognitive Approach
The Cognitive Interview technique also shares similarities with the PEACE model.
This method hinges on three psychological processes: 1) memory and cognition, 2)
social dynamics, and 3) communication. The Cognitive method attempts to guide
interviewees through their memories to obtain the richest and most relevant information
possible. This usually is accomplished by using cognitive resources efficiently and asking
open-ended questions followed by more specific probing inquiries. In this technique, there
are separate approaches for witnesses and suspects.
For witnesses, the Cognitive approach involves five steps.
• Introduction
• Open-ended narration
 • Follow-up questions
• Review
• Closing
In this model, subjects are "encouraged to generate large amounts of information
before any challenge is made."10 In effect, the Cognitive technique allows interviewees
to provide the details they deem important to their experience. The interviewer's purpose
in the process is "to guide the witness to those memory records that are richest in relevant
information and to facilitate communication when these mental records have been
activated."
This technique does not rely on confrontation, but rather on the interviewer helping
the witness revisit the scene and recall as much as possible. Interviewees should do
approximately 80 percent of the talking. This distribution can be accomplished by an
interviewer who relies on open-ended questions and careful guidance to assist the
interviewee in invoking the external (e.g., weather, room details), emotional (e.g., fear,
mood) and cognitive (e.g.,thoughts) factors around the event.12
When interviewing a suspect, the Cognitive model differs in that it includes eight steps:
• Introduction
• Narrative
• Drawing/sketch
• Follow-up with open-ended questions
• Reverse-order technique
• Challenge
• Review
• Close
"[Several] interview techniques rely on the interpretation of verbal and nonverbal
behaviors classified as deceptive, but science has shown that humans are not good at
interpreting such signals."
Much like the PEACE method and the interviewing stage of the Reid system, the
Cognitive technique is generally nonconfrontational. However, there are built-in
mechanisms designed to increase the cognitive load on the brain.
One example of this is the reverse-order technique, wherein interviewees must tell their
stories backwards. Research reveals the reverse-order process is particularly difficult for
people with fabricated stories. This is because people are used to telling stories
chronologically. Changing the order requires more thinking and processing, causing liars
to make mistakes in their narratives, which collected evidence and witness testimony can
disprove.
Kinesic Method
The Kinesic Interview Technique is like the Cognitive method in that it relies on
moving the mind and body out of equilibrium and on the human reaction to stress.
Advocates of the technique believe that this reaction, prompted by questioning, will lead
to meaningful behaviors exhibited by verbal and nonverbal indicators of deception.
The Kinesic method identifies three distinct categories into which meaningful behavior
can be divided.
1.Self-initiated statements by suspects, which they make without prompting
2.Prompted verbal responses after interviewers ask certain questions
3.Nonverbal body positioning - physiological changes and gestures or lack thereof
·After establishing baseline behaviors for the interviewee, investigators watch and listen
for deviations from the norm.

Strengths and Weaknesses

• In recent years, the number of studies done on each of these techniques has
increased, with intriguing findings. Scientists have found positives in the Reid
technique, which, "among others, can be effective in eliciting true confessions
largely as a result of social influence processes that have been shown to produce
powerful effects in psychological studies of conformity, obedience to authority, and
compliance to requests."
• However, these same social influence processes also can have a negative effect
in the form of false confessions, particularly when "the techniques of interrogation
which rely on pressure and persuasion, sometimes coercion, steadily break down
a suspect and change their perceptions of their situation such that they come to
see the act of confessing as being in their self-interest or the only way to get out
of a situation."
• Although most Reid technique-trained investigators do not wish to extract a false
confession, they sometimes are unaware of the psychological impact of their
approach, as well as their own potential biases.
• There are three sequential errors, which occur during a police-solicited false
confession, that lead to a wrongful conviction. Investigators first misclassify an
innocent person as guilty; they next subject him to a guilt-presumptive, accusatory
interrogation that invariably lies about evidence and often involves the repeated
use of implicit and explicit promises and threats as well. Once they have elicited a
false admission, they pressure the suspect to provide a postadmission narrative
that they jointly shape, often supplying the innocent suspect with the (public and
nonpublic) facts of the crime.
 • The Reid and Kinesic techniques rely on the interpretation of verbal and nonverbal
behaviors classified as deceptive, but science has shown that humans are not
good at interpreting such signals. Research actually indicates that people are
better at detecting deception when they listen only to the audio of a statement,
instead of both watching and listening.20 In general, individuals "have little more
than coin-flipping odds of guessing if someone is telling the truth, and numerous
surveys have shown that police do no better."
• In one study, the only difference in the detection of deception between random
people on the street and trained law enforcement officers was the confidence in
their ability to do so. Students actually outperformed police officers, but the officers
were more certain they were correct.
• Implicit and explicit biases also come into play with each of the interview
techniques described. As investigators listen to and assess interviewees, they may
not take into account their own preformed opinions concerning guilt or innocence.
This internal bias can be a fatal problem for each interview technique:
• "The future of interviewing, regardless of technique, may be best advanced if
interviewers allow their subjects to do more of the talking."
• A volume of research has demonstrated that when a person generates a specific
hypothesis early in an investigation (e.g. this person is guilty), their attention
becomes focused on information that confirms their hypothesis (e.g. evidence that
suggests the person is guilty), while information that contradicts their hypothesis
(e.g. exculpatory evidence) tends to be ignored or overlooked.
• The Cognitive and PEACE techniques have their own unique sets of strengths and
weaknesses, in addition to the issues described previously. Early studies of the
PEACE model have shown promise, revealing a significantly lower rate of false
confessions, Still, considering the fact that most of the relevant research is from
the United Kingdom, there remains some question as to how much culture plays a
role in the success.
• Meanwhile, studies have shown that the Cognitive system provides more valid
details than other methods while maintaining accuracy.This approach also can
assist individuals in recalling complex events and enhance episodic memory.
Investigators were able to elicit 55% percent more information from a subject after
receiving Cognitive technique training.
• Weaknesses of the Cognitive method include the time it takes to administer the
interview, the focus needed by the interviewer to administer-the technique
successfully, and the fact that it does not work as effectively on certain segments
of the population.

Importance of Silence
• The future of interviewing, regardless of technique, may be best advanced if
interviewers allow their subjects to do more of the talking.
• One afternoon in January 2012, a man's head and other severed body parts were
found in Los Angeles, California. Police identified a suspect, but because they had
 nothing but circumstantial evidence, they needed a confession to charge him.
However, despite consenting to three different interviews, he revealed nothing of
substance.
• In March 2014, detectives arranged for another interview of the suspect, who since
had established a new life in Texas. He told the interviewing officers that he only
had half an hour to talk before he had to return to his job. The detectives agreed
and told the man that they wanted to hear his side of the story. They did not
interrupt his narration or ask many questions.
• What happened next completely surprised them. The suspect spoke with the two
interviewers for almost 5 hours. During this time, he called his work to say he was
sick and his wife to tell her that he would be home late. In the interview, the man
revealed details that later would lead to information needed to obtain an arrest
warrant and a conviction. "It was the strangest thing. He should have been on his
guard. But, the less police talked, the more he did “