Could it have been the perfect fall weather or the central location in Chicago that drove attendance this year? When looking at the agenda for this year’s Elite Training Days, I’d say it was the stacked lineup of speakers. For those unfamiliar with Elite Training Days, this event is held yearly by the International Association of Interviewers (IAI), and the goal is to bring highly skilled interview practitioners together to learn deeply from academics and other experts in the art and science of interviewing. The three days included presentations, networking opportunities, and time with solution partners.
The meeting started with recognizing the Certified Forensic Interviewer of the Year, Tom Meehan, CFI. Meehan has supported the CFI designation and IAI for many years, sits on the IAI Northeast Chapter’s executive board, and advocates for higher industry interviewing standards.
Also recognized and celebrated were those CFIs who helped kick off the designation in 2004 by being the first to take the CFI exam. “Those first test-takers were the trailblazers for raising the level of professionalism in our industry,” according to Wayne Hoover, CFI, senior partner at Wicklander-Zulawski, and chair of IAI.
Kristen Ziman, chief of Police, Aurora PD (ret.), spoke on the art of truthful—and vulnerable—leadership during a crisis. Ziman was chief during one of the most chaotic and terrifying events the Aurora, Illinois, police department had seen in its history. An active shooter at a local manufacturer in 2019 tested Ziman and her team to their limits. In the role of chief for only two years, the culture of the department and Ziman’s ability to be vulnerable allowed the team to respond and act decisively to the situation. The audience learned about leadership in a crisis, managing public perception, and what it takes to make it through the chaos. According to Ziman, it’s necessary to truly create and foster a culture where others can freely speak about weaknesses. Diversity of thought is to be encouraged. Focus on communication vs. notification.
Tom Meehan, CFI, CEO of CONTROLTEK, delivered a troubling presentation on AI. He gave the audience fascinating information about deepfakes, hallucinations, and black box events. The ethical, legal, and regulatory concerns are mounting around AI. Those who conduct interviews and use video or audio to record should be aware that their recordings could be called into question at some point due to AI’s ability to create such realistic deepfakes. While AI may make many parts of our day-to-day lives easier, the biggest threat of AI is its ability to sow doubt.
Sgt. Michele Wood, Chicago PD, Homicide Section, took us through one of her department’s murder investigations. The senseless murder of Yolanda Holmes in a Chicago apartment in 2012 may have gone unsolved had it not been for countless interviews of witnesses and potential suspects. In this case, interviews were just as pivotal as the physical evidence. Thanks to Sgt. Wood and the CPD Homicide Section, the victim’s son, Qaw’mane Holmes, was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Jacyln Rodriguez, BSN, BS, RN, SANE-A, SANE-P, CEO of ForMed Insight, spoke to the audience about her work as a forensic nurse and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE). There are many parallels between what SANE practitioners do in the ER and what LP investigators do in the interview room. Preparing for the interview, spacing in the room, developing rapport, mirroring, and watching body language are just a few techniques that Rodriguez practices that overlap with LP. She has found an acronym helpful, AIR: Attention, Interest, and Respect. All three are keys to a successful interview.
Susan Brandon, PhD, research psychologist, SyncScience, and Christian Meissner, PhD, professor and director, Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, spoke to the group about their High-Value Detainee Interrogations (HIG) research. The US government had done research in the 1960s and has known since then that coercive techniques such as sleep deprivation, temperature extremes, or body positioning do not work effectively on subjects. Brandon and Meissner helped the group explore the ethical dilemmas of these types of interrogations. The use of evidence-based standards is essential at an international level. Additionally, the audience heard practical ways to incorporate these standards into their interviewing practices.
New member of the IAI Advisory Board, Tim Klatte, DBA, CFI, CFE, PMP, head of forensic advisory services, Grant Thornton Shanghai, closed the conference with a presentation on whistleblower investigations. Klatte provided real-world case examples from his over thirty years of work in China and also outlined tips on how to handle these types of cases. According to Klatte, the number of whistleblower reports to the SEC has exploded, and if you haven’t dealt with one of these cases yet, you will.
Wayne Hoover said about the event, “Without our solution provider partners, we could not make ETD happen; we thank them for their support over the years and look forward to growing the event. Our new IAI Executive Director David Lund, CFI has the energy and vision to take it to the next level. I’m excited to see where we go from here. I also want to thank Emily Kuhn, IAI manager, and the entire W-Z team for all their hard work.”
To learn more about ETD and IAI please visit https://www.
