Investigative interviewing: the literature - New Zealand Police

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Investigative Interviewing: viewing: THE LITERATURE What to do As Williamson (1993, p58) says: “Resistance should be anticipated, but very often it leads police officers to panic, repeat the question over and over again or prematurely close the interview.” The panic is felt most particularly when suspects say “No comment” or remain silent. Like other forms of resistance, such as hostility, lying, evasiveness, and non-cooperation, they put the interviewer’s ability to cope on the line (Shepherd, 1993). The simplest strategy for dealing effectively with resistance is to develop and practise a range of responses to be used when suspects say they will not answer a question or give a statement (TVP, 2004). On this matter the literature has much to say. A useful summary is made by Eric Shepherd (1993, p7): “…requirements include: the rejection of a ‘win-lose’ mentality; detailed knowledge; forethought in terms of grasp of information and issues, detailed planning and detailed preparation including potential barriers to talk; and a balance of assertion and listening consistent with finding out facts and minding feelings i.e. respect for the person, empathy, supportiveness, positiveness, openness, a non-judgemental attitude, straightforward talk and a conversational style signalling a commitment to talk across as equals, not up-down or as pseudoequals”. Interviewers can only apply appropriate strategies when they have received comprehensive training and testing in conversational and interpersonal skills and have a knowledge of human behaviour and cognitive processes (Milne & Bull, 1999; Shepherd, 1993). Key points: 1. The completeness and accuracy of the witness account is often the main factor that determines whether or not a crime is solved. 2. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act, 1999 (England & Wales) encourages police to videotape interviews with ‘vulnerable witnesses’ but leaves the court to decide whether the tape will be used as the witness’s evidence-in-chief. 3. The suspect interview is pivotal to the process of case construction and disposition. 4. Suspects are most likely to confess when they perceive the evidence against them as being strong, (by far the most important reason), when they are sorry for their crime and want to talk about it and give their account of what happened, and when they are reacting to external pressure from factors such as the stress of confinement and police persuasiveness. 5. UK police take a 3-stage approach to suspect interviews - the ‘suspect agenda’, the ‘police agenda’ and the ‘challenge’. 6. Police need to appreciate the many reasons why people may not be cooperative in interviews - reasons include Fear of embarrassment, retaliation, loss to themselves, legal proceedings, harming someone else, self-disclosure and fear of restitution. 42
REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING THE PEACE MODEL OF INTERVIEWING LEAD-UP TO THE PEACE MODEL Up to the late eighteenth century, justices of the peace in England and Wales had both inquisitorial and magisterial responsibilities. When they lost their inquisitorial responsibilities, however, police by default collected the responsibility for this task. According to Williamson (1993, p57) “As the new constabularies began to proliferate across England and Wales police officers began to question suspects prior to the judicial hearing. Some judges would allow reports of such conversations to be given in evidence whereas this was anathema to others. The Home Secretary referred the matter to the Judges and in 1906 the Judges Rules were published”. Despite their new-found responsibility it appears that little guidance for police officers on how to conduct interviews existed anywhere until the mid-1980s (Milne & Bull, 1999). Indeed, concerns over the perceived ineffectiveness of the Judges’ Rules led to the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE). Stricter controls over police questioning were introduced, including tape recording of interviews with suspects (Williamson, 1993). These measures helped expose the gap in useful material on interview techniques and led to a surge in research. DEVELOPMENT OF PEACE In 1991 the Home Office set up a steering group on investigative interviewing, comprising members of the police service, the Home Office, and the Crown Prosecution Service to co-ordinate work on interviewing, including training (Baldwin, 1993). The steering group came up with an interviewing model aimed at offering a more effective and ethical alternative to persuasive interviewing. The model, shown in the diagram below, became known by its mnemonic ‘PEACE’. This stands for: Planning and Preparation Engage and Explain Account Closure Evaluation. The PEACE model was designed as the framework for interviewing in any situation with any type of interviewee. The steps were fully explained in the two handbooks issued to officers: ‘A Guide to Interviewing’ (CPTU, 1992a) and ‘The Interviewer’s Rule Book’ (CPTU, 1992b). These were accompanied by a workbook (CPTU, 1992c) and guidance on the core principles of police interviewing (Home Office Circular 22/1992). P E A C E INTERVIEW Preparation and Planning Engage and Explain Account Clarification and Challenge Closure Evaluation Figure 3: Diagram of the PEACE interviewing model 43
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