Investigative Interview Analysis

Introduction

Interviews can be conducted in several different ways. There are positive and negative things an interviewer can do during the interview verbally, as well as non-verbally. In the video “An Overview of Investigative Interviewing” an older lady is interviewed as a victim, pertaining to a crime where she was thrown to the ground and robbed of her purse. This paper will reflect on the verbal and non-verbal usage the interviewer used, the specific interview technique style used, and an evaluation based on the seven steps he took during the interview process.

Verbal

During the interview, the interviewer used many appropriate words and phrases in order to make the victim feel comfortable and safe. When the interviewer and the victim

The interviewer does not introduce himself, or anything about him. He briefly explains what is going to happen in the interview, then dives straight into it. When examining the rapport building, there is not much that can be seen regarding that component as well. As mentioned above, there is a quick mirror technique used when the victim has a drink of her coffee. The interviewer broaches the interview by telling the victim that they will be writing a statement at the end of the interview. He asks the victim to tell him in her own words what happened that afternoon (EBS Trust, 1998). As she tells her story, the interviewer stays quiet and continues to encourage her by using words such as “yes” and “yep” (EBS Trust, 1998, 3:20). After the victim voiced her story, the interviewer told the victim “If I can just recap that back to you, just so we’re sure that I am clear of what you have said to me” (EBS Trust, 1998, 6:00). This ensured they were on the same page and allowed them to continue on with the interview. The interviewer then used a sketch map, in which he let the victim draw out an overview of the street where the crime happened. When the interviewer let the victim do this, the victim was then able to visualize the situation. After clarifying every that happened within the afternoon, the interviewer closed the interview by asking if there was anyone at home of the house of the victim, and requested

This model was designed for the interviewer to allow the interviewee to explain their story without being accused of something they may have not done (College of Policing, 2016). It allows them both to stay relaxed throughout the interview process, without aggression or intimidation present. Before interviewing the subject, the interviewer has the interview well planned out and knows where he is going to lead the interview. He begins to make the victim feel comfortable before allowing her to tell her story. The second stage of the interview is to engage and explain, in which the interviewer explained to victim how to interview was going to pan out. This stage gave the victim a proper layout of how things were going to go. Once the rapport was built and she told her story, the interviewer then clarified which is the third stage of this model. The interviewer gave a brief summary back to the victim of what she told him, so he clearly understood her and they could continue. Another thing the interviewer did was he made the victim draw out a layout picture of the crime she had been involved in (EBS Trust, 1998). As mentioned previously above, this recreated the scene and allowed her to visualize what had happened. The interviewer then closed out the interview by getting the victim to sign the statement and asked her if there was anyone at home that could take her to the doctor to get checked out. After reviewing the interview,