Chapter 2 The Importance of Obtaining and Evaluating Factual Information

Before the Interview Case facts –Information from a variety of sources that is used by an investigator to gain a solid background about a case before conducting an interview or interrogation. Dependent corroboration –Information withheld from the suspects and media that is used to verify a guilty person’s confession.

Fact Analysis The ability to identify the following from factual information: The probable motivation for a crime Unique access requirements Window of time during which the crime was committed Propensity characteristics of the person who committed the crime

Fact Gathering If there is a case involving a living victim, they should be questioned first. The investigator should first interview the suspects who are least likely to be guilty and work toward the suspect who is more likely to be guilty. Truthful suspects speak openly about other suspects’ possible motives, propensities, or opportunities to commit the crime. In some situations the victim does not report the complete truth and sometimes will fabricate the crime for various reasons.

Reliance on Experts Do not rely upon a physician’s estimate of time of death of the victim or of the time when the fatal wound was inflicted. Do rely on physical scientific data.

Most Likely Suspect Circumstantial evidence or physical evidence points toward a particular person, that person is usually the one who committed the offense. –Your job is to rule in or rule out the suspect.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews Always consider the investigator may have become so convinced of the suspect’s guilt and so anxious to obtain a confession, that he may have prematurely confronted the suspect with an accusation or may have indulged in some verbal abuse. This can severely hinder a subsequent interview by a competent investigator.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews When an initial investigator becomes emotionally involved in solving a case, it is common to: – lose the perspective of a truth-seeker –and assume the adversarial role of a prosecutor, –attempt to “build a case” against the person believed to responsible for the crime.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews Consider the possibility of rivalry between two or more investigative agencies. An ego factor may discourage a full exchange of information between two investigative units or between individual investigators.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews While listening to a fact-giver’s report of the incident in question: –take notes regarding dates and time –Names and nicknames of participants or witnesses –fill in the complete details later rather than interrupt the fact-giver who is giving the report.

Details and Confirmation When obtaining initial facts, the investigator should reiterate what the fact-giver has told him and to follow up on missing information. Question the witness regarding the possible sources of confirmation.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews Encourage the person relating the details of a case to sketch the place of the occurrence and to note on it any relevant points. Photographs unaccompanied by a full explanation from the investigator are often inadequate or even misleading because they do not fully portray the situation. When interviewing a person regarding the facts of a case, ask what may have happened, who may be the chief suspect, and why.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews Information submitted by a paid informant should be treated cautiously. –Informants often report conclusions rather than actual facts. False information can be deliberately furnished by an informant in order to obtain payment or receive favorable consideration regarding their own criminal activities. Anonymous report implicating a specific person in a criminal offense should also be viewed with extreme caution.

Gathering Information from Others Through Interviews Ask a child victim of a sex offense involving a stranger to describe the incident fully. Ask the victim to describe the smallest of details about the scene of occurrence. –Often in these situations the molester will deny that the child was ever inside his car or apartment.