Word Games Deceptive Suspects Play

Nov 01, 2011

Properly socialized people do not enjoy lying. None of us invite the feelings of guilt, fear or anxiety associated with telling a lie. On the other hand, we also don't like to...

Interviewing Witnesses

May 01, 2011

A witness is anyone who possesses direct information pertinent to an investigation. Sometimes witnesses are forthcoming and fully cooperative, other times they are reluctant to get involved and occasionally they are deceitful...

Investigating Attention- Motivated Fabricated Crimes

Nov 01, 2010

Every year there are a dozen or so incidents involving fabricated crimes that make national headlines because the motive behind the reported crime fascinates the general public. Recently a woman in...

Using Baseline Behaviors to Establish "Truthful" Responses.

Sep 01, 2010

During our training seminars, participants have asked about the value of identifying a suspect's truthful behavior by asking questions to which it is known that the suspect is telling the...

Designing an Interview/Interrogation Room

Mar 01, 2010

I recently taught at a newly constructed police department. The architecture was beautiful featuring a massive open community room. The detective's work area was equally impressive with state of the art computer...

Behavior Symptom Analysis During Roadside Interviews

May 01, 2009

Many serious crimes have been solved as a result of a traffic stop or chance encounter with a police officer:* A vehicle is stopped for running a red light and it...

The Psychopathic Suspect

Mar 01, 2009

The Psychopathic Suspect

March-April, 2009

Imagine what it would be like to make everyday decisions without caring how your choices affected others and to live...

Planning A Formal Interview

Sep 01, 2008

Planning A Formal Interview

Over the last 30 years I have conducted thousands of interviews on issues ranging from employee theft to homicide. Despite...

The Use of Visual Aids During an Interview or Interrogation

Jul 01, 2008

Investigators rely extensively on their verbal communication skills to elicit information during an interview and to persuade a suspect to tell the truth during an interrogation. It is often beneficial to reinforce...

Evaluating One-On-One Allegations

May 01, 2008

One-on-one allegations are very common in criminal investigations. The accuser may be an alleged victim. The accused, of course, denies involvement and offers an explanation for the false allegation. In other situations...

Are you a good listener?

Mar 01, 2008

An investigator's ability to solve cases relies extensively on his/her ability to develop rapport, ask the right questions, identify deceptive responses and...

Conducting A Custodial Behavior Analysis Interview

Jan 01, 2008

Investigators who attend our training seminars learn the value of conducting a Behavior Analysis Interview (BAI) as a reliable means of eliminating innocent suspects and identifying the guilty suspect during the...

Guarding Against Claims of False Imprisonment

Nov 01, 2006

The concept of "false imprisonment" is usually associated with a criminal act relating to abduction or kidnapping. However, this web tip relates to false imprisonment as a civil suit. The definition varies...

Quoting Statements in an Open Account: Truthful or Deceptive?

Sep 01, 2006

Quoting Statements in an Open Account: Truthful or Deceptive?

September- October

During most interviews the investigator should develop an open, or narrative account from the subject. It is called an open...

Eliciting A Subject's Willingness to Submit to a Voluntary Interview

May 01, 2006

In most instances, subjects will agree to answer an investigator's questions if the conversation occurs at the subject's home, place of business or over the phone. From an investigative perspective, however, it...

The Use of an Interpreter During an Interview

Mar 01, 2006

A question that is frequently asked during our seminars concerns the proper use of an interpreter during an interview. This is particularly true when we train military personnel who regularly utilize translators...

The Significance of Identifying Precipitators during a Criminal Investigation

Jan 01, 2006

The first step of any criminal investigation is factual analysis. This describes the process of collecting and analyzing information and evidence surrounding a crime. One of the goals of factual...

Common Errors in Evaluating a Suspect's Truthfulness Through Behavior Symptom Analysis

Dec 01, 2005

Over the years we have been consulted on cases in which an investigator was absolutely convinced that a particular suspect was lying when, in fact, the person was telling the...

The Significance of Specific Denials During Interviews and Interrogations

Oct 01, 2005

Recently, I reviewed a videotaped interview of an 17-year-old suspect who was being questioned about starting a fire that burned down his parent's home. During the interview the investigator asked...

The Use of Follow-Up Questions During an Interview

Jul 01, 2005

The primary goal of an interview is to develop meaningful information from a subject. The first step in this process is to ask the right questions. However, merely...