Investigator Tips
Current Investigator Tip
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...
Previous Tips
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...
Evaluating Exaggeration Within a Response
Jan 01, 2009
During a recent congressional hearing a CEO of one of the big three auto makers was asked, "Isn't it true that you have been trying to sell your company for several...
Selling a Suspect on the Benefits of Confessing
Nov 01, 2008
As a general guideline, an investigator should not address consequences during an interrogation. In fact, the investigator goes to great length to avoid discussing any possible consequences the suspect faces if...
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...
Interrogation Procedures: Promises of Leniency
Nov 01, 2007
Interrogation Procedures: Promises of Leniency
For a confession to be admissible as evidence it must not only be trustworthy, but also voluntary. The test...
Proper Techniques for Witnessing A Confession
Sep 01, 2007
No investigator wants to have his testimony questioned because it is his word against the defendant's. It is precisely for this reason that the investigator needs to have a witness verify...
The Role of a Subject's Attitudes in the Detection of Deception
Jul 01, 2007
Early in John Reid's career, he had a secretary named Mildred. In addition to typing and filing reports, Mildred scheduled appointments and greeted subjects as they entered the...
Catching A Suspect In A Lie: Not Always A Symptom Of Guilt
May 01, 2007
A skilled investigator learns to withhold certain inside information from a suspect during an interview in the hope that he can catch the suspect in a lie. For example, the suspect may...
Electronically Recorded Confessions
Mar 01, 2007
The topic of electronically recording interviews and interrogations comes up frequently during our seminars. Clearly, there is a national trend in which through state court decisions or legislative efforts police officers...
The Use of Rationalization During an Interrogation Theme
Jan 01, 2007
Two conditions must be satisfied before a person decides to commit a crime. The first is that the individual must believe that he or she will not...
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...
The Role of Motivation in Detection of Deception Research
Jul 01, 2006
Early reports on the accuracy of the polygraph technique were largely anecdotal. For example, if ten suspects were administered a polygraph examination on a particular crime and one of them failed and...
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...