Interview and Interrogation
Annette LeBlanc
St. Martin Sheriff’s Office
Definitions:
• Interview
– Non-Accusatory
meeting in which
information is obtained
– Purpose: to gather information
– Subjects: witnesses, victims
• Interrogation
– Formal solicitation of
information
– Purpose: obtain the
information you believe this
person has
– Subject: suspect
The Interview:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Structure of the interview
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Preparation: Facts and Location
Introduction
Rapport: often extension of the introduction
Questions: open ended vs. closed
Verification: Ensures mutual understanding
Catch-all Questions (Positive: What have I forgotten to ask
(Aggressive: What have you not told me
• Departure: Leave open possibility for re-contact
• Critique : Only way to learn
Factors to consider:
Timing: Interview /
Interrogation
Location: Interview /
Interrogation
Communication is both verbal and non-verbal.
Are the words and actions giving the
same signal?
Verbal Clues
Pitch
Volume
Rate
Actual words and phrases
Always get a base to
gauge by
Five Stress Response States:
Anger
Depression
Bargaining
Denial
Acceptance/acknowledgement
Verbal
• Anger:
– Focused: Most easily recognizable
• Interviewer/Department
• Victim
• Witness
– Covert: More subtle
• Facts of the case will be attacked
• Intimidation (I have a degree in accounting)
• Make and issue out of an non-issue or minor details
Verbal
• Depression:
– Anger and depression are closely related. One is
focused outward, depression is anger focused inward.
– Look for body language: closely resembles body
language of confession:
• Body is slumped, drooping shoulders, chin in the chest, crying …
Verbal
• Bargaining:
– Complaining for sympathy
– Gray Statements
Verbal
• Denial: 90% of the subject’s deceptive behavior will present itself to the
investigative interviewer in the form of denial. If anger , depression and
bargaining fail- turn to denial.
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Memory Lapses
Modifiers/Qualifier
Guilt Phrases
Vocabulary Shifting
Specific Denials
Denial Flag expressions
Verbal
Acceptance
- Buy out statements
- Fantasy-reality statements
- Punishment statements
Body Language
• Posture:
– Leaning forward
– Sitting Sideways
•Gestures:
–Head movement
–Hand activity
•Facial expression:
–Expression of fear
–Anger
–Acknowledgement
•Eye movements:
–Different for different
cultures: what you’re looking
for is a break in the “normal”
baseline.
Review:
Verbal signs: Truthful person
- makes general sweeping denials, offers unqualified direct
spontaneous answers
- exhibits a reasonable memory
- responds to questions rationally and in a distinct and clear tone
Non verbal signs: Truthful person
- sits upright but not rigid
- positions himself in front of the questioner and leans toward
him/her when making a point
- appears relaxed and casual
Review:
Verbal signs: Deceptive Person:
- Offers very specific denials
- gives delayed, evasive or vague answers
- exhibits an unusually poor, selective or remarkable memory
-Qualifies answers or uses religion or oaths to support their
statements
- Speaks in an irrational, mumbled or subdued manner using
fragmented statements
Review:
Nonverbal Sings: Deceptive Person
- Slouched or leans backward (away from interviewer)
- very rigid and stiff
-Pulls their elbows in close to the body, arms folded and
locked in front of them
-Exhibits rapid and erratic posture changes
The Interviewer
• A successful Interviewer has the ability to
obtain information from all subjects,
analyze the information and record it
accurately.
• The interviewee should be allowed to tell his own
story in his own words without Interruption.
Experience has shown that in this narrative, the
interviewee tells all that he or she knows in words
of their own choosing. They are more inclined to
furnish more accurate information than if they
merely furnish answers to specific questions.
Advantages
• It gives the interviewee the opportunity to talk freely
• It places a certain amount of pressure on them to keep
talking
• Their thinking is self-directed
• It aids their memory-more things come to mind
• It makes it easier for them to recall and relate events in the
order in which they occurred
• It makes it easier to extract the important parts of the story
• It furnishes “ammunition” for direct questioning
THANKS AND
HAVE A GREAT DAY