Oftentimes defense attorneys, social psychologists, academicians, and members of the media describe the Reid Technique as an accusatory process, and they should (and many do) know better.

Over 55 years ago John E. Reid and his colleague, Northwestern Professor of Law Fred E. Inbau, described in the second edition of their book, Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, published in 1967, that the non-confrontational interview as an integral part of the investigation process, writing that “during the interview process, the investigator should assume a neutral position and refrain from making any statement or implications” about the subject’s guilt or innocence.

They suggested that the following areas of inquiry should be part of the interview process:

• Ask the subject if he knows why he is being questioned
• Ask the subject to relate all he knows about the occurrence, the victim, and possible suspects
• Obtain from the subject detailed information about his activities before, at the time of, and after the occurrence in question

All investigators understand that the initial contact with a subject (victim, witness or suspect) should be a non-accusatory, non-confrontational interview the purpose of which is to develop information – to give the subject an opportunity to tell their story, and to provide any information they may have as to the who, what, when, where, why and how of the issue under investigation.

In all investigations, we teach that the initial contact with any subject should be a non-accusatory, non-confrontational interview. Interrogation should only take place when the investigative information indicates the subject’s probable involvement in the commission of the issue under investigation.

In a previous Investigator Tip (Principles of Practice: How to Conduct Proper Investigative Interviews and Interrogations April 2022) we pointed out several essential elements of the investigative interview:

• The initial contact with the subject (absent a life-saving circumstance) should be a non-accusatory, non-confrontational interview.
• All interviews should be conducted following the guidelines established by the courts; such as the appropriate advisement of rights; the presence of a parent or guardian for a juvenile; etc.
• Throughout the interview, the investigator should maintain a neutral, objective fact-finder demeanor. During the interview, the investigator should not engage in any accusatory or confrontational behaviors.
• The interview should begin with casual conversation, biographical information, employment information, etc. to acclimate the subject to the interview process, develop rapport, and develop the subject’s behavioral baseline
• The investigator should use open-ended questions to develop the subject’s statement, story, version of events, or explanation of what happened. In the interview, the investigator should do about 20% of the talking and the subject should do about 80%.