Investigator Tips
Interrogation
The Investigator's Workbook: Principles of Practice - How to Conduct Proper Interviews and Interrogations
Oct 13, 2025
Principles of Practice: How to Conduct Proper Investigative Interviews and Interrogations*
Since 1947, John E. Reid and Associates has been conducting investigative interviews and, when appropriate, interrogations.
Since the mid-1970s, we have...
Revisiting Misinformation About the Reid Technique
Sep 12, 2025
In the publication, “From Third-Degree To Third-Generation Interrogation Strategies: putting science into the art of criminal interviewing”, * there are several statements about the Reid Technique that require correction.
The author...
The Investigator's Notebook
Aug 31, 2025
The Investigator’s Notebook consists of over 190 Investigator Tips organized in a sequence that reflects the various stages of an investigation. Please feel free to share this information with your colleagues.
Best Practices That Investigators Should Follow To Prevent False Confessions
Aug 07, 2025
Before we discuss the “best practices,” it is relevant to consider the primary causes of false confessions.
Over 60 years ago, in the first edition of their book, Criminal Interrogation and Confessions...
Cases that address the issue of misrepresenting evidence during an interrogation
May 29, 2025
Why do the courts reject the premise from false confession experts that lying to a suspect about evidence causes false confessions?
May 29, 2025
Social Psychologists, Defense Attorneys, Academicians, and Law Enforcement interrogation critics claim that
Misrepresenting evidence to a subject during an interrogation will cause innocent people to confess
Social psychologists often claim that police...
Correcting Misinformation About the Reid Technique
May 06, 2025
Critics of the Reid Technique make several false and erroneous statements (in italics below) when describing the Reid process. In the following pages, we will list their criticisms and our responses.
The...Note Taking Guidelines During the Investigative Interview and the Interrogation
May 02, 2025
During the investigative interview (Behavior Analysis Interview - BAI), the investigator’s interview questions should be asked in a conversational tone and always be non-accusatory. The investigator should take a written note following...
Why the Reid Technique is so Successful
Nov 16, 2024
One of the primary reasons that the Reid Technique is so successful in helping investigators resolve criminal investigations and to secure an acknowledgment of guilt from the offender is that the process...
Preparing to Testify in Confession Cases Parts One and Two
Oct 30, 2024
Preparing to Testify in Confession Cases (Parts One and Two)
In Part One of this Investigator Tip we will highlight the content of an article written by Attorney Deja Vishny *...
Richard Leo's Boilerplate Statement Regarding Police Interrogation Practices
Jun 26, 2024
The following is the "boilerplate" position taken from various statements, publications and testimony of Richard Leo regarding police interrogation practices.
The Social Psychology of Police Interrogation
Police interrogation is a...
Is offering a suspect a moral or psychological excuse for committing the crime the same as offering them a promise of leniency if they confess?
Jun 03, 2024
Social psychologists and other law enforcement critics suggest that during interrogation if the investigator offers the subject a moral or psychological excuse for committing the crime, it is tantamount to making a...
“I did it”…. is that a valid statement of guilt?
May 29, 2024
The purpose of an interrogation is to learn the truth. In most instances, this consists of the guilty suspect telling the investigator what he did regarding the commission of the crime under...
Based on Court Decisions What Can an Investigator Say During an Interrogation?
May 01, 2024
In one of our prior Investigator Tips, Interrogation and Confession Judicial Decisions Organized by Subject Matter, we included a section entitled, Court decisions re appropriate/permissible investigator statements. Here are a few...
Interrogation of Hamas-Inspired Terrorists
Dec 19, 2023
During his Congressional testimony on December 5, 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray stated “Given the steady drumbeat of calls for attacks by foreign terrorist organizations since October 7, we’re working around the...
Persuasion Tactics for Migrants Committing Crimes
Nov 07, 2023
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), “There were more than 2.8 million migrant encounters from January through August, 2023.” (USA Today, September 30, 2023).
Furthermore, CBP Chief Raul Ortiz said there...
Reid Policy on the Use of Deception During an Interrogation
Jun 26, 2023
Reid Policy on the Use of Deception During an Interrogation
Preface
There is a distinction between a court of law and the court of public opinion. In recent years several states have...
The Truth About the Research Social Psychologists Use as the Basis for Testimony Regarding False and/or Coerced Confessions
Mar 06, 2023
The Truth About the Research Social Psychologists Use as the Basis for Testimony regarding False and/or Coerced Confessions
Social Psychologists, Defense Attorneys, Academicians, and Law Enforcement interrogation critics oftentimes refer to research...
Benefits of Complimenting a Suspect During the Interrogation
Jan 15, 2023
There are many elements that lead to a successful interrogation. One such element is the level of rapport and trust the investigator can develop with the suspect. One way to develop rapport...
Investigator’s Response to a Subject’s Challenges During Interviews and Interrogations
Oct 14, 2022
This article is a follow-up to last month’s “Investigator Tip” which discussed how an investigator’s own bearing and demeanor may affect the outcome of an investigative interview or interrogation. This article expands...