"Virus of hate" spotlights importance of interrogation themes

Apr 13, 2020

Amid an uptick in coronavirus-related hate crimes, investigators can use empathy to relate to offenders

It appears that the number of hate crimes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is...

Telephone Interviewing Techniques Part One (January/Feburary Investigator Tip)

Dec 31, 2019

Certainly the ideal circumstance for an investigative interview is a face-to-face meeting with the subject. However, due to a variety of factors, it is becoming more and more frequent for investigators to...

Modifying Techniques When Questioning Juveniles and Individuals with Mental or Psychological Disabilities

Jun 28, 2019

In our training program we highlight the importance on exercising caution when questioning a juvenile or mentally impaired person. As an example see pages 19-21 in this article, Clarifying Misrepresentations About Law...

Testifying in Court

Dec 04, 2018

In their Winter 2018 publication, Point of View, the Alameda County District Attorney's office, (Nancy E. O'Mally, District Attorney) has published an article entitled, Testifying in Court, which discusses the testimony guidelines...

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office: Interrogation

Oct 11, 2018

The Alameda County District Attorney�s Office has prepared and published an excellent article entitled, Interrogation, which examines numerous interrogation issues, including when pressure becomes coercion, looking at such elements as location of...

May/June 2017 Investigator Tip: The Value of Behavior Provoking Questions - A Case Study

May 01, 2018

The investigative interview process in the Reid Technique is called the Behavior Analysis Interview (BAI). The BAI consists of three types of questions: Initial Questions designed to develop biographical information, establish...

Police Chief magazine article on the PEACE Method

Jan 01, 2018

The November 2017 issue of Police Chief magazine features an article entitled, Bringing PEACE to the United States. The article is well written and provides the reader with a very...

The November - December Investigator Tip: FACTUAL ANALYSIS

Nov 01, 2017

Factual analysis can be defined as estimating the probability of a suspect's guilt or innocence based on investigative findings. Each investigator uses factual analysis to narrow the scope of suspects - to...

July - August 2017 Investigator Tip Cognitive Interviewing

Jul 03, 2017

Cognitive interviewing is a memory retrieval procedure designed to enhance recall when interviewing a victim or witness. Unlike hypnosis, which involves placing the subject in an altered state of consciousness, cognitive interviewing...

January/February 2017 Investigator Tip: Ten

Jan 01, 2017

Physical coercion, torture, duress, denial of rights, threats, and promises of leniency are the poison pills of legally admissible, reliable, and voluntary confessions. Obviously we should not engage in such behaviors or...