1
CHAPTER V a. Interviews are conducted in criminal cases for the purpose of
BASIC IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Learning Objectives: At the end of this the students should be able
to;
1. Understand the purpose of criminal investigation
2. Know the objectives of interview and interrogation
3. Differentiate interview and interrogations
4. Explain the procedures on how to prepare for the interview and
interrogation
5. Identify the interrogation techniques and approach
6. Explain what is judicial admission
Introduction
The successful interviewer/interrogator must fully
understand the techniques of interviewing and interrogation and
have the ability to evaluate the psychological reasons why people
are willing or reluctant to impart information.
The interview/interrogator/investigator’s own capabilities
and limitations must be recognized. Personality and the manner in
which interpersonal communications are handled can greatly
influence the quality and quantity of information obtained. He/she
must be able to convey empathy, sympathy, anger, fear and joy at
various times, as needed but must always reman truly objective. It is
important that the interviewer/interrogator keep an open mind, and
is receptive to all information, regardless of its nature.
Objectives of Interview
gathering information from people who have or may have
knowledge of the needed in the investigation.
b. The information may come from the victim or from a person who
has no other relationship to the criminal activity other than being
where he or she was.
Objectives of Interrogation
a. Interviewing is the process of obtaining information from people
who possess knowledge about a particular offense, as part of the
process of investigation.
b. Interrogation is designed to match acquired information to a
particular suspect to secure a confession.
c. There are four (4) commonly recognized objectives to the
interrogation process.
1. To obtain valuable facts.
2. To eliminate the innocent
3. To identify the guilty
4. To obtain a confession
Interviews and Interrogation: Similarities and Differences
a. An in interviewing, the success of an interrogation depends on a
number of personal characteristics and commitments of the
investigator.
b. Establishing rapport, asking good questions, carefully listening and
proper documentation are elements common to both forms of
obtaining information.

Qualifications of Interviewers/Interrogators
a. The effective interviewer/interrogator must be knowledgeable in the
art and science of criminal investigation and know how to use
psychology, salesmanship, and dramatics.
b. Persuasiveness and perseverance are essential to success. The
interviewer/investigator must make himself or herself easy to talk
to.
c. It is important that the interviewer/interrogator keep an open mind,
receptive to all information regardless of its nature.
Preparation for the Interview or Interrogation
The success of both the interviewer or interrogator and the
interview of interrogation will often be determined by the time and
dedication committed to preparing for the interview or
interrogation. Both the interviewer or interrogator must become
familiar with the facts of the case under investigation and the
victim.
Witness
If the interview is to be conducted with a witness other than
the victim, the interviewer should find out as much about the
witness as possible before conducting the interview including
motivations, perceptions and barriers that might exist.
Offense
2
It is necessary that the investigator know specifically what
crime or crimes were allegedly committed.
Victim
If the victim is a person, the investigator should learn as
much as possible about his or her background, the nature of the
injury or loss, attitudes toward the investigation, and any other
useful information, such as existence of insurance property crime
case.
Interrogator
Must evaluate himself or herself and the conduct of the
interrogation and must begin to evaluate the suspect.
Suspect
The investigation should reveal as much personal
background information on the suspect as can be obtained.
Witnesses: Motivation, Perceptions and Potential Barriers to
Effective Interviewing
a. There are many types of witnesses, and each has different
motivations and perceptions that influence his or her responses
during an interview
b. There is no way to categorize all personalities, attitudes and
other character traits.
Nevertheless, there are some basic groupings that can be mentioned.

1. Some witnesses may be honest and cooperative and desire to
impart information in their possession to the investigator.
2. Some witnesses may desire not to give any information in an
interview regardless of what they may know.
3. Some witnesses may be reluctant or suspicious of the motives of
the interviewer until such time as a rapport can be established
and the investigator can assure the witness of his or her good
intentions.
c. There may be other barriers which must be overcome in order
to successfully interview someone who has knowledge of the
circumstances under which a crime was committed.
1. Language barriers
2. A potential witness who may be under the influence of alcohol
or drugs may or may not have information that could be used at
trial.
3. In evaluating information provided by juveniles, consideration
needs to be given not only to chronological age but also to the
level of schooling.
Reliability of Eyewitness Identification
4. Interviewing an older person may also present a unique set of
challenges.
5. Vision.
6. Hearing
d. Competency of a Witness
1. Competency describes a witness’s personal qualifications to
testify in court.
3
2. Among the factors an investigator must evaluate in determining
the competency of a witness are age, level of intelligence,
mental state, relationship to individuals involved in the case,
and background characteristics that might preclude the
testimony of the witness from being heard in court.
3. Relationships among individuals involved in a case may also
affect a witness’s competency.
4. Background characteristics also may preclude a witness’s
testimony from being heard in court.
e. Credibility
1. Credibility is distinguished from competency in that the latter is
based on the assumption that a witness is qualified and will be
permitted to testify.
2. Credibility relates to that quality of a witness that renders his or
her testimony worthy of belief.
a. Information provided by witnesses to a criminal event is relied
heavily by both the police and courts in the investigative and
adjudication stages of our system of justice, yet research indicates
that eyewitness testimony may be unreliable.
b. Human perception and memory are selective and constructive
functions, not exact copiers of the event perceived constructive in
that gaps will be filled to produce a logical and complete sequence
of events.
 4

c. Experts distinguish a number of factors that limit a person's ability 3. The third major area of concern about reliability of hypnotically
to give a complete account of events or to identify people enhanced memory is referred to as confabulation.
accurately.
c. The Hypnotist: Law Enforcement or Mental Health Professional
The following are among those factors

1. The significance or insignificance of the event Time, Place, and Setting of the Interview
2. The length of the period of observation
a. Police officers conduct interviews in a number of situations. The
3. Lack of ideal conditions most common is the on-the-scene interview.
4. Psychological factors internal to the witness
b. The physical circumstances under which the interview takes place
5. The physical condition of the witness can be critical to the value of the information obtained.
6. Expectancy
c. Although convenience of the witness is important to a successful
interview, the interviewer need bot relinquish the psychological
advantage in selecting the time and place of the interview.
Hypnosis as an Investigative Tool
d. Privacy is of the utmost importance in conducting interviews.
a. The use of hypnosis as a means of aiding witnesses in recalling
facts burned in the subconscious is often thought to overcome many
e. The physical and emotional states of the witnesses are important in
of the difficulties experienced in seeking accurate human memory.
conducting or in determining whether to conduct an interview.
b. Hypnosis is often erroneously believed to be a form of sleep. In
fact, it is the opposite. It is best described as a state of heightened
Time, Place, and Setting of the Interrogation
awareness in which the subconscious is somewhat surfaced, and the
conscious is somewhat repressed.
a. Unlike the interview, which may take place in any number of
different locations and at various times which may or may not be
1. In this altered state of consciousness, the subject of hypnosis
advantageous of the investigator interrogation is a controlled
has a heightened degree of suggestibility, or hyper
process, controlled by the investigator.
suggestibility.
1. The most critical factor in controlling the interrogation is to
2. Hyper compliance, closely related to hyper suggestibility, is a
ensure privacy.
desire on the part of the hypnotized subject to please the
hypnotist or others who have supported the hypnosis effort.

2. In addition, privacy may be used as a psychological tool: the
suspect may feel more willing to unload the burden of guilt in
front of only one person.
b. The traditional interrogation room should be sparsely furnished,
usually with only two chairs.
c. The two-way mirror, although still a useful tool for allowing others
to observe the interrogation is widely known and may cause some
subjects to refuse to cooperate in the interrogation.
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
a. Several decades ago, Richard Bandler and John Grinder recognized
that communication could be enhanced if the words and actions of
the interviewer and interviewee were similar
b. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) embraces three simple
concepts.
1. First, neuro comes from the idea that behavior originates from
neurological processes involving the five senses seeing, hearing,
smelling, tasting, and feeling.
2. Then we communicate our life experiences through language, the
linguistic element.
3. Programming refers to how we organize our ideas and actions to
produce results.
c. An interviewer/interrogator who understands these concepts and
can get in “sync” with the witness or suspect by mirroring or
matching mannerisms, actions and words can make communication
5
barriers disappear, foster trust and create the flow of desired
information.
Interviewing: Processes and Techniques
a. Regardless of the time, place, or setting of the interview, or
ultimately the type of witness or victim interview, there exists some
standardization in technique.
1. An interview has a beginning, a middle its main segment and
an end
b. The cognitive interview technique was developed in the hope of
improving the completeness and accuracy of eyewitness accounts
while avoiding some of the legal pitfalls that surround the use of
hypnosis.
1. The first step is to ask the witness to reconstruct the general
circumstances surrounding the incident.
2. Second, the investigator asks the witness to report everything
remembered about the incident and all surrounding
circumstances.
3. Step three is to have the witness recall the events in a different
order.
4. The fourth technique is to have the witness change
perspectives.

Pre-interrogation Legal requirements
a. The legal requirements pertaining to interrogations became of
critical concern during the 1960s and as a result, the Supreme Court
handled down a landmark decision that has dramatically affected
the conditions under which interrogations take place.
b. Miranda v. Arizona
The Supreme Court, in a five to four decision, spelled out the
requirements and procedures to be followed by officers when
conducting an in-custody interrogation of a suspect.
1. The right to remain silent.
2. The right to be told that anything said can and will be used in
court.
3. The right to consult with an attorney prior to answering any
questions and the right to have an attorney present during
interrogation.
4. The right to counsel. If the suspect cannot afford an attorney,
the court will appoint one.
c. Suspect’s Response: Waiver and Alternatives
1. It is common practice for the officer to ask the suspect if he
or she understands the rights as they have been explained. If
the answer is yes, then the officer may ask if the subject
wishes to talk with the officer. At this point, the alternatives
open to the suspect are four:
1.1 The suspect may choose to remain silent.
6
1.2 The suspect may request counsel.
1.3 The suspect may waive his or her rights and agree to talk
with police without the benefit of counsel.
1.4 The suspect may indicate a desire not to talk with the
investigators.
d. Why People Confess
There are two basic categories of people who will confess to a
crime:
1. First, there are those guilty parties who psychologically
need to “get it off their chest”.
2. The second category comprises those who are not guilty but
who act under some urge to confess.
In-Custody Interrogation Defined
a. For investigators to understand the proper application of the
Miranda requirements it is essential that they understand the
meaning of in-custody interrogation.
b. Custody (Defined) – analysis of case decisions shows that there is
not yet a universally accepted definition of custody. Rather, case-
by-case analysis is used to determine the applicability of Miranda
requirements
c. Interrogation (Defined) for many years following the Miranda
ruling, there was considerable confusion over what constituted
questioning or interrogation.
Interrogation: Processes and techniques
 7

a. Effective interrogators, like interviewers, must be skilled in
psychology, persuasiveness, and acting. Good interrogators must
also be good seducers; they must be able to make others do what
they want them to do.
Beginning the Interrogation
a. Just as in interviewing, it is important to establish rapport with the
person to be questioned. And just as in interviewing, neuro-
linguistic programming techniques can help.
1. The logical approach is based on common sense and sound
reasoning.
2. The emotional approach appeals to the suspect’s sense of
honor, morals, righteousness, fair play, justice, family pride,
religion, decency, and restitution.
3. A sympathetic approach that gives the suspect a way out of a
predicament can often be successful and because the suspect is
offered the opportunity to save face, confessions are sometimes
forthcoming.

b. Composing and Asking Question: General Principles 4. When the suspect’s guilt is uncertain, the interrogator should
begin with an indirect approach, assuming that the interrogator
There are certain basic rules an interrogator should keep in mind when
already possesses all necessary facts.
composing and asking questions.
5. The “Mutt-and-Jeff”, or good-guy/bad-guy approach to
1. For example, questions should not be complex.
interrogation works in some cases.
2. Questions should be short, direct and confined to one topic.
6. Playing one person against the other sometimes works when
c. Recognizing and Coping with Deception there are at least two suspects, both of whom swear they are
telling the truth during separate interrogations.
1. Verbal Signal – are generally easier for a deceptive subject
to control than nonverbal signals.
The Importance of Listening
2. Nonverbal Signals – there are generally far more nonverbal
signals and behavior than there are verbal.
a. Regardless of the amount of their preparation and experience
investigators or interrogators can conduct a fully successful
d. Statement Analysis
interview only if they are good listeners.
Interrogation techniques and Approaches
b. Listening is as valuable in interview and interrogation as is
questioning.
a. Identical techniques do not work for all interrogations. Approaches
and questions differ with the type of suspect being questioned.
c. To be effective, one must be an active listener too. It has been
estimated that 65 percent of communications is nonverbal.
 8

b. The three most widely accepted methods of keeping notes during

Documenting the Interview
a. The majority of routine case involving interviews, handwritten
notes made by the investigator during and immediately following
the interview generally serve as sufficient documentation.
and interrogation are mental notes, written notes, and notes taken by
a third party.
c. Police use of audio-video technology to document interrogations
became widespread in the 1900s.

b. Note taking during the interview raises two primary concerns for
the interviewer. Admissibility of Confession and Admission

1. First, it may occasionally be distracting or suspicious to a
witness; witnesses may be reluctant to give information
knowing that it is being documented.
2. Second, the interviewer should avoid becoming preoccupied
with taking notes, for it creates the appearance of
inattentiveness.
Judicial Admissions – an admission, verbal or written, made by the party
in the course of the proceedings in the same case,
does not require proof. The admission may be
contradicted only by showing that it was made
through palpable mistake or that no such admission
was made.

c. The best form of documentation is a sound recording or a sound and

visual recording of the interview.

Documenting the Interrogation

a. Documenting an interrogation consists of three main phases: note

taking, recording, and obtaining written statements. All three of
these phases are geared to accomplishing two basic functions.

1. To retain information for the benefit of the interrogator and the

continued investigation.

2. To secure a written statement or confession from the accused

for later use as evidence in court.