Criminal investigation | Forensic Evidence, Interviews & Interrogations (2024)

FAQs

What is interview and interrogation in criminal investigation? ›

Interviews are designed to collect data and evaluate a subject's credibility in a non-accusatory manner, often to gather circ*mstantial evidence. On the other hand, interrogations aim to: Verify already gathered information. Reveal the truth in a more structured and sometimes confrontational environment.

Walters describes four fundamental stages of the interview: (1) orientation, (2) narration, (3) cross-examination, and (4) resolution (Id. at 25-29). The investigator uses information gathered during the first phase to tailor interrogation for the specific subject.

Originally developed by British forces in a variety of 20th-century conflicts, they are most notable for being applied to detainees in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The five collective methods are prolonged wall-standing, hooding, subjection to noise, deprivation of sleep, and deprivation of food and drink.

Two alternative interrogation techniques are (1) Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure and Evaluate (PEACE), a less confrontational method used in England, and (2) the Kinesic Interview, a method that focuses on recognizing deception.

These steps include confrontation, theme development, handling denials, overcoming objections, obtaining and retaining the suspect's attention, handling the suspect's passive mood, presenting an alternative question, having the suspect describe the offense, and converting an oral into a written confession.

In order to gain accurate information, they may use a variety of questioning techniques such as lying, minimization and provocation. These strategies can be used to challenge statements made by suspects, present them with hypothetical scenarios and encourage them to provide details about the events in question.

First, they plan and prepare the questions, and then, they engage the suspect and explain why they are there. The third step of the interview is to account for what has happened. The officer puts together the statements from the victim and the witnesses and tells the suspect what he believes happened.

The Reid Technique: Playing Good Cop-Bad Cop

By far, the most common interrogation method is the Reid Technique. First developed in the 1940s, this "good cop-bad cop" tactic has been used for decades by police. The Reid Technique relies heavily on the presumption of guilt.

What is the mutt and jeff technique? ›

Good cop, bad cop, also informally called the Mutt and Jeff technique, is a psychological tactic used in interrogation and negotiation, in which a team of two people take opposing approaches to the subject.

The kinesic interview technique is used to attempt to read the interview subject's reaction to stress. There are several types of questions that can be used in the kinesic interview to provide clues to the guilt or innocence of the interview subject. One type of question is the "punishment" question.

Conducting an investigative interview involves several steps, including preparing a non-threatening environment, asking open-ended questions, maintaining objectivity, and summarizing information to ensure accuracy and clarity.

Methods used included beating, binding in contorted stress positions, hooding, subjection to deafening noise, sleep disruption, sleep deprivation to the point of hallucination, deprivation of food, drink, and medical care for wounds, as well as waterboarding, walling, sexual humiliation, rape, sexual assault, ...

Interrogation is a process used by law enforcement to obtain evidence in an ongoing case. The person being interrogated is usually a person of interest in a crime that has been committed. The term interrogate means "to question someone aggressively or formally," which can be seen in many interrogation techniques.

An interview is the questioning of a person who may or does possess information relevant to the matter under investigation. An interview conducted on a subject of a criminal investigation, especially when in governmental custody, is referred to as an interrogation.

The two terms are used interchangeably by most people, including many police officers. The definition that I work with is- an interview, is a structured conversation to obtain information. An interrogation, is a structured conversation to obtain an admission.

The objective of interviews by police is to elicit accurate, reliable and actionable information. It is NOT to confirm what the officer thinks might have happened, nor to coerce the suspect into providing information or to confess.