Interviewing Techniques
The Interrogation Interview
Interviewing Techniques, The Interrogation Interview
Introduction
We are going to look at the use of interviewing techniques by those who investigate. As a result of interviews conducted after accidents and criminal offenses, the interviewer must be able to analyze witness statements in order to translate witness observations into facts and create logic from confusion. The interviewer must have an understanding of those factors that affect witness reporting. The gathering of witness information comprises about 50 percent of the investigating technique, the remaining 50 percent hinges on the ability of the interviewer to analyze and apply his or her knowledge to the sometimes seemingly unrelated observations of the witness. We shall see that even the most sincere of witness statements may not be reliable without corroborating evidence.
Listening
Since interviewing is a communication skill, some mention should be made of listening habits of the interviewer and some pitfalls one may face. Lets look at some poor listening habits and what we can do about them.
Faking attention should never be done. There are many reasons why a listener may fake attention to someone who is speaking. It may be the speaker’s vocabulary, tone of voice, dress, or mannerisms. Faking attention can be overcome by tolerance and patience. By faking attention you may miss a vital detail of the accident or offense and the witness may not relate the information a second time.
Distractions should be avoided or minimized. This problem can be a pitfall for both you and the witness. If the interview is taking place at the scene it should be conducted at a place with the least number of distractions as possible. Distractions may be noise, movement, vehicles, or machinery. Even a squeaky chair or an unbalanced chair can be distracting. When there are many distractions you should restate questions and give feedback to the witness.
One of the biggest pitfalls is listening with your mouth open. As an interviewer you should know when to just listen and keep your mouth shut. It is almost impossible to listen to a witness if you are talking. Let the witness talk if he or she is willing. If it is necessary to clarify a point, it may be better to wait for the witness to finish before talking and then go back over the area needing qualification....
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...witnesses separately and away from each other. When contacting them to set an interview if the witness is given an easy out or feels that the interviewer doesn’t really care, there is a good possibility that the witness will decline the interview. Always use courtesy in conducting the interview, if you are rude, brusque, or abusive the witness will sense it immediately and turn off or hold back. If a witness has problems remembering details and the sense that the interviewer is becoming impatient or losing interest, the witness may well terminate the interview or become frustrated. Always take notes but be prepared to cease note taking if the witness becomes distracted and that exaggeration is likely to creep into testimony if the witness has repeated the observation several times.
Interviewing is a communication skill and like any other skill it takes practice to become effective.
References
Hamilton, C. (2001). Communicating for Resultes (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Yhomson Learning.
Rabon, D. (1992). Interviewing and Interrogation. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Zulawski, D. E. (1992). Practical Aspects of Interviewing and Interragation. New York, NY: CRC Press.
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McClish, Mark. “Susan Smith” http://www.statementanalysis.com/susan-smith/ Advanced Interviewing Concepts. May 6, 2002. Web, Feb. 7, 2012
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