IOD 4166 Interviewing For Law Enforcement

Question 1

What is symbolic communication, and what are some examples?

Answer 1

Meaning people associate with a material object, physical characteristic or other attributes

Examples:
Material object = gold chain, crucifix, wedding band
Physical characteristics = height, weight, tattoos
Other attributes = police car, badge, uniform, gun

Question 2

What are barriers to effective communication?

Answer 2

BADDTAN

Body barriers = crossed arms, legs (closed off)
Authoritarian barriers = sitting behind desk, hands on hips/weapon, crossing arms, clenching fists, superior eye level, uniform including sunglasses
Distrust
Distance
The “gap”
Alienation
Nervousness

Question 3

How can we diminish communication barriers?

Answer 3

ABCD

Avoid ethnocentrism by understanding culture
Build rapport
Be reasonable
Care demonstration
Do not react to them

Question 4

What is rapport, and why is it so important?

Answer 4

It is a harmonious, positive interaction, two way communicative phenomenon, a state of interest or engagement between interview and interviewee

Builds a baseline to evaluate a persons nonverbal communication

Question 5

What are some ways to build rapport?

Answer 5

Active listening = pay close attention to nonverbal communication, and provide feedback
Clarity of expression = (KISS)
Self Disclosure = talk truthfully about ones self

Question 6

What are the 5 steps of interview process?

Answer 6

1. Introduction = identify yourself/partner, interviewee, and purpose
2. Rapport = non threatening conversation about family, occupation, recreation, etc. to build “baseline”
3. Questions = ask, listen (do not interrupt!)
4. Summary = make sure information is correct
5. Close = “thank you” and open for future contacts

Question 7

What are open ended questions?

Answer 7

Initial questioning that require free recall or narrative responses (TED)

Tell me…
Explain to me…
Describe to me…

Note: if interviewee pauses wait for them to start talking again, do not interrupt (average every 7.5 seconds)

Question 8

What are the verbal responses and cues that indicate a subject is being truthful?

Answer 8

Spontaneous - little or no hesitation (quick answers)
Sincere - normal inflection and nonverbal cues
Direct - little thought to hesitation

Question 9

What are the verbal responses and cues that indicate a subject is being deceptive?

Answer 9

Guarded - hesitant with answer
Insincere - forced or evasive
Generalized responses/qualifiers

Question 10

What are the nonverbal communication that may indicate deception?

Answer 10

spoken words disagree with nonverbal indicators

Note: when a persons body language changes dramatically this may just be a stress response and needed to be evaluated under the totality of circumstances or 4Cs

Question 11

What are four factors for evaluating behaviors as indicators of truth or deception?

Answer 11

Culture - normal for a particular culture
Change - stress from questions or indicator of deception (this is why behavioral baseline is so important)
Context - when the nonverbal action happens (most deceptive occurs 1-5 seconds after question asked)
Clusters - two or more behaviors may indicate deception

Question 12

What are some principles to remember regarding admission/confession?

Answer 12

When you present evidence and perform your monologue ensure they wait till the end of it to say anything

If they admit anything, support it with statements like “thank you” to encourage further admissions

If they resist or deny, stop direct denials and get back to monologue

Question 13

What is the cognitive interview technique?

Answer 13

A rapport based method of interviewing focused on memory recall

1. Reconstruct the circumstances (sketching)
2. Report everything (don’t edit)
3. Recall events in different order (report from last to first = detects deception)
4. Change perspectives (recall from another angle)

Question 14

What can happen if a person is asked to do two tasks at the same time?

Answer 14

Cognitive overload