This week’s International Association of Interviewers interview and interrogation training tip provided by Wicklander-Zulawski, has Dave Thompson, CFI, discussing the effect of an interviewer becoming agitated or aggravated during an interview or interrogation.
David uses a supply and demand analogy to show how this can potentially impact the confession. If an interviewer becomes agitated, it clearly demonstrates to the subject that the interviewer is desperate for the confession; and as a result, this can make the confession more difficult to obtain.
When interviewers conduct a thorough investigation upfront, they are able to enter the interview with credibility rather than relying on a confession to complete their case. This will change our leverage during the conversation. In these cases, it should become clear to the subject that the interviewer does not desperately need the confession, which should make the confession easier to obtain.
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.
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.
This post was originally published in 2016 and was updated July 2, 2018.