This week’s International Association of Interviewers interview and interrogation training tip provided by Wicklander-Zulawski, has Dave Thompson, CFI, discussing the importance of preparing and planning before you walk into an interview.
Often, investigators are tasked with interviews that have to happen in real time, or they tend to shortcut an investigation. Remember how important the investigative process is before you conduct an interview.
Some things you want to think about before you sit down with a subject:
- Have you tried to investigate what their motive might have been for committing the act or the crime?
- Have you thought about potential excuses or explanations?
- Are there things you might want to investigate further so you can eliminate the subject’s ability to use them as an excuse? OR Could that excuse actually be viable?
- Most importantly, have you done a thorough enough investigation to make sure you’re not about to sit down with an innocent person?
If we could spend some more time investigating and trying to eliminate innocent subjects, before we sit down with someone and falsely accuse the wrong person, it would have a tremendous impact on the success of your investigations. Next time you’re about to walk into an interview or an interrogation, ask yourself if you’ve done everything you can before you walk into that room. If you don’t have time to do something right the first time, when are you going to have time to do it again?
Spend some time to do your investigation, and at the end, hopefully, that will result in a better case resolution.
Every loss prevention investigator should continuously strive to enhance their investigative interviewing skills as part of an ongoing commitment to best-in-class interviewing performance. This includes holding ourselves to an elite standard of interview and interrogation training that is ethical, moral and legal while demanding excellence in the pursuit of the truth. The International Association of Interviewers (IAI) and Wicklander-Zulawski (WZ) provide interview and interrogation training programs and additional guidance to investigators when dealing with dishonest employees, employee theft, sexual harassment, policy violations, building rapport, pre-employment interviewing, lying, denials and obtaining a statement.
By focusing on the latest information and research from experts in the field as well as academia, legal and psychological resources, these video tips provide interview and interrogation training techniques that can enhance the skill sets of professionals with backgrounds in law enforcement, loss prevention, security, asset protection, human resources, auditors or anyone looking to obtain the truth.
To learn more about interview and interrogation training and how you can further develop your professional skill sets, please visit www.w-z.com or www.certifiedinterviewer.com for additional information.