1. Interviewing and Interrogation
Chapter 1

2. Lesson Overview: How are crimes solved?
When someone makes the decision to talk to the police
Influenced by the communication skills of the interviewer

3. 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

4. Purpose of the Interview
The purpose of the interview is to gather information.
Approximately 80% of police investigative work consists of interviewing!

5. Characteristics of an Interview
Non-accusatory
Purpose is gather information
Should be conducted early in the investigation
Variety of environments
Free flowing
May need to take notes

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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!

9. 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

10. 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.

11. Confession
A 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.

12. Admission
An acknowledgement of guilty conduct containing only facts from which guilt may or may not be inferred.

13. Characteristics of an Interrogation
Accusatory
Involves active persuasion
Purpose = learn the truth!
Controlled environment
Suspected guilt
Notes are not initially taken

14. 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

15. Rapport Development
Rapport is the communication that results when two people agree on the means and willingness to communicate.

16. 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

17. 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

18. Communication for Rapport
Communication includes both verbal and non-verbal messages
Information communicated is about 65% non-verbal
Verbal communication is about 35% of information related

19. Matching
Matching is a subtle form of the interviewer mimicking the nonverbal and paralanguage behaviors of the person being interviewed.

20. Kinesics Kinesics is a form of non-verbal communication that includes:
Body language
Facial expressions
Gestures

21. Matching Kinesic Communications
When two people are communicating effectively their body language will be aligned
Facial 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

22. Examples of Facial Expressions
Eyebrows frown for anger or concentration and rise for intensity
Pupils of the eyes get larger during fear and smaller during rest
Lips may move into a grin to show happiness, grimace for fear, or pout to indicate sadness
Wide eyes typically indicates surprise or excitement; narrowed eyes indicate disagreement or a threat

23. 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

24. Proxemics
The study of our use of space and how various differences in that use makes us feel more relaxed or more anxious

25. Proxemics Spacing Intimate space Personal-casual 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