Tell Me or “You Will Tell Me” An interview is a CONFESSION with an agenda “90% of the game is half mental.” SHOW ME THE COKE CAN P bar Y Safety Consultants
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Tell Me or “You Will Tell Me”
An interview is a CONFESSION
with an agenda “90% of the game is half mental.”
SHOW ME THE COKE CAN
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Interview Vs. Interrogation
Interview• Non-Accusatory• Conversational
Dialogue• Gathering
Information• Time is Limited• Take Notes
Interrogation• Accusatory• Conversational
Dominance• Seeking
Admission or Confession
• Time is not Limited
• No Notes
P bar Y Safety Consultants
An Important Key
• “Everyone wants to give every information to everyone!”
P bar Y Safety Consultants
People Like to Talk…
• Good interviewers remove obstacles that prevent this natural occurrence.
• People are not afraid to answer questions. They are afraid to ask them.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Body Language
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Definitions
• Body Language - How you physically present yourself to others. Body language has been proven to be an extremely powerful viewer into the inner workings of the human psyche.
• Confrontation - A stressful, generally unwanted combination of emotional, verbal, mental, or physical assaults upon a person or persons senses. Confrontation usually engenders human emotions such as fear, anger, disgust, superiority, inferiority, sexual aggression, anguish, and self -doubt to name a few.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Types of Body Language
• Positive - Usually creates a non-threatening, bonded, mutual relationship between parties involved in a confrontational situation.
• Negative - Usually intensifies the already present emotional negativity found in most confrontational situations.
• Neutral - Usually has little or no effect on conflicted parties in a confrontational situation.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Body Language Top Ten Quick
Positve Body Language• Head Level• Eye Contact• Hands Down• Palms Open• Feet Shoulder Width• Head Cocked• Arm fold with Chin Touch• Lean in• Nod head• Rub Hands to end
Neg Body Language• Look Down• Look Away• Step Back (Exception)• Touch mouth, nose, throat• Clench Fist• Cross Arms• Hands on Hips• Point (Exception)• Hands in front of chest• Hands behind back
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Territory• Intimate
– Touching – 6-18”
• Personal– Close -1½ to 2½ feet– Far - 2½ to 4 ½ feet
• Social – Close 4-7 feet– Far - 7-12 feet
• Public – Close - 12-25 feet– Far - 25 feet or greater
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Positive Body Language Details
• Head Level = I will not be intimidated - I will be treated as an equal or superior.
• Eye Contact = I have nothing to hide. I am not fearful. (Beware of prolonged eye contact. This becomes a stare-down and escalates into a power struggle. Maintain eye contact for a few seconds, then look at the nose or cheek then back to the eyes. Do not drop your eyes!!)
• Hands Down = I am not aggressive toward you at this time. I do not feel threatened by you yet.
• Palms Open = I am presently receptive to your concerns.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
• Feet Shoulder Width = I am ready to take any physical position which is most advantageous to our confrontation.
• Head Cocked = I am presently interested in what you are doing and saying.
• Arm fold with chin touch = I am evaluating the physical and verbal comments you are giving me.
• Lean In = I am comfortable with who I am and the situation I am facing. I am not intimidated.
• Nod Head = I am interested in what you are presenting and understand that you have a concern. (Be careful here. Do not nod your head when the other person makes a false or accusatory statement.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
• Rub Hands to End = Once you have made a decision and have decided to end the confrontation, state what your decision is while rubbing your hand softly in front of you in a non-threatening manner.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Negative Body Language Details
• Look Down = I am submissive to you and your confrontational attitude. You physically and emotionally dominate me.
• Look Away = I am uncomfortable with the situation. I can’t look at you because you have more power. (Looking away and also looking down at the same time is also a sure sign of sexual dominance.)
• Step Back = I am afraid of you, the situation, or both. (Remember, there is an exception to this rule which will be discussed later)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Different Cultures ...
• A crowded culture
• What is your private space?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
When you invade my space
• Reactions to an invasion of your space– Feel troubled– Get defensive– Become aggressive– Retaliate
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Masks We Wear
• Public Masks– Public smile – Clothing – Putting on my face
• Extended territory– On the road– At work
• Can we drop masks?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Jockeying for position
• Inclusive - Non-inclusive– How you include/exclude others in a group
• Parallel body positions– Will position yourselves to relate to each other– Side by side are neutral– Facing means people are involved
• Congruence-incongruence– Groups that imitate each other
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Looking
• How long do you look?– Staring- dehumanizes or challenges– Glances - socially acceptable timing– Appraisal- may indicate interest
• Do you look when you talk?• Do you look when you listen?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
‘What often happens in any relationship is that language itself becomes a mask and a means of clouding and confusing the relationship. If thespoken language is stripped away and the onlycommunication left is body language, the truthwill find some way of poling through. Spokenlanguage itself is a great obscurer”DO YOU KISS ON THE FIRST DATE?
Actions Speak Louder than Words?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Misinterpretation = Trouble??
• Lost business– Lack of animation = lack of
interest? – US tendency to get right to
business
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Troubles
• Conflict with peers
• Different work styles• Wrong assumptions
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Trouble….
• Misinterpretation of signals– Can be BIG trouble– Legal trouble – Do you know how to
act or are you confused?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Do you know what you are saying?
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Verbal Control of Confrontational Situations
• Body Language and voice control must be in harmony with one another. Proper body language is rendered impotent when accompanied by poor grammar and loss of voice control.
• Stress causes the following physical reactions:– Face becomes red and flushed– Body becomes ridged and stiff– Breathing becomes rapid and shallow– Eyes widen– Sweat breaks out– Voice escalates– Sentences become very short– Teeth clench
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Verbal Control of Confrontational Situations
• Almost all stress related reactions can be controlled by breath control. You must consciously breath. When you see or feel a confrontational situation beginning to develop, immediately take 1 or 2 deep breaths and relax your diaphragm. Deep breathing tells your subconscious that the threat is over or lessened. This relaxes the muscles of the face and vocal cords.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Verbal Control of Confrontational Situations
• When you speak, speak from the diaphragm rather than the throat.
• Imagine yourself speaking in a calm, confident manner. Pause momentarily before you begin to speak.
• The faster and higher the other person in the situation talks, the slower and lower you should speak. A deep, measured voice is interpreted as being in charge and capable of handling the situation.
• Use questions to deflect anger and diffuse focus. Repeating a question back to the questioner often causes that person to rethink their statement.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Verbal Control of Confrontational Situations
• Do not make iron clad statements:– I know– Always– Never– Won’t
• Make conditional statements:– In my judgement– I think– In my opinion– It is my belief– The rule does not allow– By rule– According to rule
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Verbal Control of Confrontational Situations
• Do not use slang. Slang usage is seen as loss of control.• Use command and control words when appropriate
– Stop– You– Here– There– Emphasize the command with the point.
• Never threaten– State the behavior you want stopped and leave the other person to
imagine what the penalty might be.– State the penalty and then enforce it no matter what.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Bulk Up
• In a confrontational situation, you must appear larger than you are.– Head and eyes level– Shoulders back– Butt and Gut sucked in– Elbows out 6 to 8 inches from the body– Feet shoulder width. (Wider than shoulder width shortens your
height)– Lean forward slightly. This causes you chin to thrust out slightly. Chin
thrust is one of the top 3 indicators of self mastery.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
DANGER! DANGER!!
• Here are some signs that a physical attack is possible but not imminent:– Head, neck, and shoulder go back. (The person is trying to make himself look
bigger)– Face is twitching and/or jerking– Lips are pushed forward so the teeth are bared.– Breathing is fast and shallow– Beads of sweat appear around neck and face– Thousand mile stare– Finger pointing / head pecking– Giving excessive attention– Sudden change in attitude from confrontive to docile– Acts stoned or drunk– Directs anger at inanimate items.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
DANGER! DANGER!!
• Signs that a physical attack is imminent:– Change of stance. Shoulder blades and body drop.– Hands closed into a fist. Knuckles are tight– Bobbing up and down or rocking back and forth. (This hides the initial
strike.– Target glance. The person looks where he is going to hit.– Puts chin down to chest. He is protecting his airway.– Stops all movement– Drops center of gravity.– Shedds clothing– Goes from full sentences to one syllable words or non-sense
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 1
• Preparation– identify the reason for the interview– determine the person to interview and
the order of interviews– perform necessary research– outline questions– Imaging
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 2
• Introduction
– Establish the purpose of the interview
– Develop rapport/altruism• The most important aspect of a
conversation.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 3
• Capture the Pure Version Participation Ratio = Interviewer: 5% - Subject: 95%
– Open-ended questions
– No Interruptions
– Draw out complete responses through “encouragement phrases.”
– Employ Controlled Silence
P bar Y Safety Consultants
An Important Key
• The individual you are interviewing does not know what you know!
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Listening
• A good listener tries to understand thoroughly what the other person is saying. In the end he may disagree sharply, but before he disagrees, he wants to know exactly what it is he is disagreeing with.
Display empathy, but don’t be empathetic.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
The 3 Levels of Listening
LEVEL 3DaydreamingNot paying attentionForming rebuttals to what is being saidFighting internal distractionsHearing words only - not listening for
meaningHardly any recall of what is said
P bar Y Safety Consultants
The 3 Levels of Listening
LEVEL 2Starting to listen to words, but very little
processing of meaningCan now repeat words of speaker, but not
meaningNot remembering what was said
P bar Y Safety Consultants
The 3 Levels of Listening
LEVEL 1Open to speakers point of viewTruly interested in what is saidUnderstanding content before forming
opinionsRemember what was saidThis is also known as empathetic listening
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Barriers to Effective Listening
Experiences Biases Training
Expectations Interests Feelings
Barriers filter and distort communication
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 4
• Tap Information Volunteered
– Obtain details about the information provided
“Squeeze the sponge”
– Explore any mention of conversations, people, places, documents, chronology, and basis (who, what when, where, why, how)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 5
• Uncover Information Not Provided
– Obtain information in areas not volunteered by the subject.
“Fill the Gaps”
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 6
• Recap
– Obtain a commitment to important assertions
– Summarize key points
– Leave door open for further questioning
“Beer Seizures”
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Information Gathering InterviewElement 7
• End
– Spend time making notes (notes should be limited during the Listening Phase of the interview)
– Transcribe your notes
– Verify the information
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Get the Big PICTURE
• PreparationIdentify the reason for the interview
• IntroductionEstablish the purpose Develop rapport/altruism
• Capture the Pure VersionOpen-ended questions
• Tap Information VolunteeredObtain details about the information provided
• Uncover Information Not ProvidedObtain information in areas not volunteered
• Recap
• End
P bar Y Safety Consultants
PICTURE
• PreparationIdentify the reason for the interview
• IntroductionEstablish the purpose Develop rapport/altruism
• Capture the Pure VersionOpen-ended questions
• Tap Information VolunteeredObtain details about the information provided
• Uncover Information Not ProvidedObtain information in areas not volunteered
• Recap
• End
P bar Y Safety Consultants
An Important Key
• Don’t pretend to understand.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Profile of a Successful Interviewer
– Social– Eclectic– Intuitive– Knowledgeable
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Profile of a Successful Interviewer
Attitude
– Objective– Cordial and Polite– Even-Tempered – Sincere– Interested– Understanding– Develops Rapport
• You should be in a good mood or fake it!
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Profile of a Successful Interviewer
Tone of Voice
– Medium, Conversational– Avoid displaying disbelief, shock, anger,
disgust, and skepticism– Smooth Speech, Controlled, Confident– Modeling
• Voice Tone, Pace of Speech, Language
“
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Profile of a Successful Interviewer
Posture
– Upright– Frontally Aligned– Leaning Forward on Occasion– Open, No Crossed Arms– Avoid Slouching– Conscience of Modeling Effect
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Profile of a Successful Interviewer
Eye Contact
– Should be maintained when you ask the subject questions or when they answer.
– Avoid Staring, casual breaks of eye contact are essential.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Professional Skepticism
• “Skepticism”– Believing or showing the belief that
people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns
– callously calculating – Negative or pessimistic – Expressing jaded or scornful skepticism
or negativity
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Professional Skepticism
The method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism characteristic of skeptics.
Unsatisfied Curiosity Tell me - Show me-
Convince me.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Characteristics ofProfessional Skepticism
• Is the explanation reasonable?
• Verify statements
• Ask about exceptions
• Assess credibility (individuals & evidence)
• Ask difficult questions• Be Professionally Skeptical not Cynical• Seek Clarification not confrontation
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Quotable Quote
It doesn’t do any good to beat a dead horse; but it doesn’t hurt anything either.
P bar Y Safety Consultants
The Reid Model of Interrogation
• The Reid model is a common interrogation method
• Involves 3 general stages:– Gather evidence– Conduct a non-accusatorial interview to
assess deception (guilt)– Conduct an accusatorial interrogation to
obtain a confession
Step 1: Direct Positive Confrontation
Certain and confident
Fabricated evidence is good
Pause, observe, repeat confrontation
Passive reaction = DeceptionP bar Y Safety Consultants
P bar Y Safety Consultants
The Nine Steps of Reid
• The third stage involves 9 steps to break down the suspect’s resistance to confessing
• Designed to make the anxiety associated with deception (i.e., by maintaining one’s innocence) greater than the anxiety associated with confessing
3-59
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Step 2: Theme Development
Possible themes for emotional suspects:
Anyone in situation would have done same
Minimize crime’s moral seriousness
Suggest morally acceptable reasons
Condemn others (e.g., victim)…
…themes for emotional suspects
• Praise & flattery
• Suspect’s role in crime has been exaggerated
• Not in suspect’s best interest to continue with criminal activities
P bar Y Safety Consultants
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Themes: Non-emotional Suspects
• Catch them in a lie
• Get suspect associated with crime scene
• Non-criminal intent behind act
• No point in denying involvement
• Play one co-offender off the other
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Step 3: Do Not Allow Denials
Innocent• Spontaneous• Forceful• Direct• Eye-contact• Leans forward
in chair• Assertive
posture
Guilty• Hesitant• Defensive• Qualified
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Steps 4: Overcoming Objections
Denial Objection Withdrawal
Act here
Guilty
Continue With Plain Denials
Not Guilty
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Steps 5: Procurement and Retention of Suspect’s Attention
•Reduce psychological distance
Step 6: Handling Passiveness
Suspect about to give in
• Focus on central theme
• Crying/Blank stare = Suspect ready to confess
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Step 7: Alternative Questions
Present 2 optionsBest case Worse case
Most important part of Reid technique
Timing is critical
P bar Y Safety Consultants
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Step 8: Orally Relate Offence Details
• Get full details of the crime
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Step 9: Convert Oral Confession into Written Confession
•Written confession is more incriminating
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Minimization and Maximization
• In general, interrogations techniques included in the Reid model can be broken down into two categories:– Minimization techniques: Soft sell tactics
that provide a sense of false security (e.g., justifying the crime)
– Maximization techniques: Scare tactics that attempt to intimidate suspects (e.g., making up evidence)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Comprehension of Legal Rights
• It is assumed that safeguards (e.g., knowledge of legal rights) are in place to protect individuals being interrogated
• Research indicates that people often do not understand their legal rights (Eastwood & Snook, 2010)
• Comprehension can be improved if cautions are delivered in an appropriate format (e.g., written vs. verbal)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Investigator Bias
• Officers enter the accusatorial phase of the interrogation with the belief that the suspect is guilty
• This can lead to biased perceptions and behaviours on the part of the interrogator and observers of the interrogation (e.g., jurors; Kassin et al., 2003)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
False Confessions
• Research suggests that the Reid model may also elicit false confessions
• A false confession occurs when an individual confesses to a crime they did not commit or exaggerates their involvement in a crime they did commit
• Must be distinguished from disputed and retracted confessions
3-73
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Types of False Confessions
• Three types of false confessions:– Voluntary false confessions– Coerced-compliant false confessions– Coerced-internalized false confessions
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Voluntary False Confessions
• A voluntary false confession occurs without being prompted by the police
• Can be the result of a desire for notoriety, an inability to distinguish fact from fantasy, an attempt to protect the real offender, or a need to be punished (Gudjonsson, 1992)
• Example: The Lindbergh case
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Coerced-Compliant False Confessions
• A coerced-compliant false confession occurs in response to a desire to escape further interrogation or to gain a promised reward (Gudjonsson, 1992)
• The confessor knows that they did not commit the crime
• Example: Gerry Conlon and the IRA bombings
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Coerced-Internalized False Confessions
• A coerced-internalized false confession results from suggestive interrogations
• The confessor comes to believe they committed the crime
• People suffering from brain impairments, extreme anxiety, or confusion may be more susceptible (Gudjonsson, 1992)
• Example: The Paul Ingram case
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Geographic Profiling
• Geographic profiling involves an analysis of crime scene locations in order to determine the most probable area of offender residence
• Assumes that offenders do not travel long distances from home to commit the majority of their crimes
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Geographic Profiling Systems
• Geographic profiling systems rely on mathematical models of spatial behaviour
• Assign probability values to locations surrounding linked crimes
• Probabilities correspond to the likelihood that the offender resides in those areas
• Geographic profiling systems can be quite accurate (Rossmo, 2000)
i) Vulnerable Memory
Mentally weak (IQ < 80) Drugged/Intoxicated Sleep Deprivation Interrogative Suggestibility State of Anxiety
P bar Y Safety Consultants
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Characteristics of confessions?
• Younger > Older• Caucasians > Blacks/Asians• Females > males• First offenders > previous convictions• Property > Violent• Non-Serious > Serious• Strong evidence > weak evidence
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Compliance and Suggestibility
–Compliance: Tendency to go along with people in authority (related to coerced-compliant confessions)
–Suggestibility: Tendency to internalize information communicated during questioning (related to coerced-internalized confessions)
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Two Kinds of Suspects1.
Emotional2. Non-
Emotional
Feels Distress /Remorse
Nothing particularly
Interrogator Approach
Sympathetic Factual Analysis
Appeal to…
Conscience Reasoning / Common
Sense
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Themes: Non-emotional Suspects
• Catch them in a lie
• Get suspect associated with crime scene
• Non-criminal intent behind act
• No point in denying involvement
• Play one co-offender off the other
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Coercive Tactics & Interrogation
• Minimization: Soft sell techniques that provide a sense of false security
• Maximization: Scare tactics that intimidate
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Suspect Vulnerabilities
• Current mental state• Mentally weak (IQ < 80)• Drugged/Intoxicated• Sleep Deprivation• Compliance & Suggestibility• State of Anxiety• Reading ability• Understanding of legal rights
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Beyond False Confessions
• Inadmissible confessions that are TRUE!
• Coerced confessions resulting in resentment
• Coercion resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder
• Undermining public confidence
• The ‘boomerang effect’
P bar Y Safety Consultants
Admissibility of Confessions
• For confessions to be admitted into court they must:
–Be given voluntarily
–Be given by a person who is competent
P bar Y Safety Consultants
What’s Allowed in Canada?
• No Explicit Threats or Promises
• No Overt Oppression
• Must have Operating Mind
• Some Police Trickery OK
PEACE model of Interviewing
- Preparation and Planning - Engage and Explain - Account - Closure - Evaluation
P bar Y Safety Consultants