Overview

Perhaps the most valuable and most elusive skills a police officer can develop are those related to interviewing witnesses. Often, the most important evidence in a criminal case comes in the form of oral testimony, but oral evidence is also the most vulnerable to damage at the pre-trial stage. Memories fade, stories change, and willing witnesses sometimes lose their appetite for disclosure. The collection and preservation of critical evidence at the earliest possible stage depends on thorough, careful police work. Even more sensitive is the evidence of the accused — it must be collected in painstaking compliance with constitutional rights in order to be of any value to the prosecution.

With Interviewing and Investigation, authors Jim Euale and John Turtle guide the novice police officer through the pitfalls and hazards of investigative interviewing, and provide a solid legal and practical foundation for the development of much-needed interviewing experience.

Top ∧Features

• Teaches interview and investigation skills primarily for novice police officers
• Includes scenarios which illustrate difficult concepts
• Conclusions and questions at the end of each chapter designed to get students to think about and reflect on the application of the topics in each chapter
• Explains the limitations and guidelines imposed by the law regarding interviewing and investigating
• Instructor’s Resources
  • Includes an Instructor’s Guide with PowerPoint presentations

Top ∧Content Summary

Acknowledgments
Preface

• Chapter 1: Identifying and Managing Witnesses
• Chapter 2: Techniques for Investigative Interviewing
• Chapter 3: Interviewing Suspects and Accused Persons
• Chapter 4: The Admissibility of Statements: Voluntariness and Respect for Charter Rights
• Chapter 5: Detecting Deception
• Chapter 6: Eyewitness Identifications

Appendix A: Judicial Decisions on the Admissibility of Statements and Police Obligations Concerning the Rights of Accused Persons
Appendix B: Report of the Commission on Proceedings Involving Guy Paul Morin (Selections)
Appendix C: Review Scenario
Glossary
References

Top ∧Preface

This combination text/workbook is designed primarily for novice police officers, although many points will be informative for veteran investigators as well. Perhaps no skill is more important to police work than the ability to ask questions and interpret answers in an attempt to discover the perpetrators of a particular crime or determine the events leading to an incident. Whether a police officer is a rookie or a senior officer assigned to major investigations, the skills necessary to ask appropriate questions and seek out truth in the responses are of the first order.

The authors of this text/workbook have attempted to encompass both the psychological and tactical aspects of interviewing as well as the legal requirements of the process. The combination of knowledge required by all three aspects is broad based and complex. Each of these aspects plays an important role in the interviewing and interrogation process. The development of a rapport based on trust and respect between a police officer and a witness or suspect is essential in a successful outcome to the entire process.

The Criminal Code and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, together with legal precedence established by case law, all govern the admissibility of statements taken by police officers. This text/workbook attempts to explain and edify the limitations and guidelines imposed by law. The techniques examined in this text/workbook suggest new and old avenues of approach in dealing with suspects and accused persons and, in addition, consider the likely outcomes of these approaches.

The psychological areas of study include the role of the unconscious in people's memory and behaviour, together with repressed and recovered memories. Cognitive interviewing techniques are discussed and explored to determine what may and may not be expected from their implementation. The polygraph and its success or failure as an investigative tool are discussed at length. Many of the myths regarding the use and reliability of this technical investigative aid are explored.

Scenarios are used extensively throughout the book to illustrate difficult concepts. The application of interviewing and investigative techniques becomes evident when viewed in conjunction with the examples in the scenarios. Based on personal experience, the scenarios lend credibility to the various techniques employed and create an environment conducive to learning.

The questions at the conclusion of each chapter are designed to cause the student to reflect on the application of specific techniques and assess their viability in given situations. Discussion questions should help the student understand and appreciate the success or failure of each strategy as it is applied to a given situation.