Example Of Investigative Interview

Introduction Interviewing helps investigators gather relevant information regarding specific crimes and is an important aspect of police work. It is a combination of art and science to perform a good interview and the goal is to gather the best information possible (Maze, 2017). I reviewed an interview from EBS Trust (1998) titled Investigative Interviewing. In this video, an investigator was taking a statement from the victim of a robbery. An elderly lady was being interviewed about how, when she went to the dry cleaners she noticed a man paying special attention to her car, when she confronted him he pushed her, took her purse, and ran away (EBS Trust, 1998). This paper evaluates how the investigator performed in this interview. There

Non-verbal communication can include body language, eye contact, proxemics, haptics, and even the setting of the interview (Maze, 2017). In EBS Trust’s (1998) interview the investigator used some subtle non-verbal communication to help the victim feel comfortable which could help him gather better information. Immediately when they walked into the interview room he pulled the chair around the table in order to take it away as a physical communication barrier and allowed him to be closer to her (EBS Trust, 1998, 3:35). Throughout the whole interview, the investigator did a good job of making eye contact, he also squinted his eyes a few times to help show a deeper understanding of what the interviewee was saying (EBS Trust, 1998). This is important because eye contact can help create a connection, it shows that he is listening, and it allows him to view her non-verbal communication. He also nodded his head up and down quite often to encourage the interviewee to continue talking and that he understands what she is saying (EBS Trust, 1998). At 6:25 in the video (EBS Trust, 1998) the interviewer allowed the interviewee to draw a ‘sketch map’ of where the incident had occurred. This is a good use of non-verbal communication because it allows the investigator to gather a better understanding of what had happened, and it allows the victim to retell

The interviewer used verbal communication very well to help the interviewee feel comfortable. He used good minimal verbal encouragers to keep the interviewee talking and to help her feel confident in what she was saying to him. He also did a good job of reviewing the information she gave him and then summarizing it back to her to show that he understood exactly what she was saying (EBS Trust, 1998). Although, he could have helped the victim feel more comfortable by having a rapport building conversation at the beginning of the interview. The non-verbal communication the interviewer used throughout the interview was really good. He made very positive eye contact and he made good use of non-verbal encouragers, such as nodding his head (EBS Trust, 1998). Overall, I thought the investigators use of non-verbal communication was good. The one time it was not so good was when he had her stand up and they tried to re-enact when the victim had been pushed (EBS Trust, 1998). She looked uncomfortable and unconfident throughout that entire interaction. This entire interview was planned very well and I feel as though the investigator made good use of verbal and non-verbal communication to make the interviewee feel comfortable and confident in what she was saying. She