Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Make Submission Tolerable
The suspect will be more likely to confess — which the authors suggest
involves the surrender of “his very being and his own free will and destiny into
the hands of the interrogator” — if the interrogator has conveyed objectivity,
sincerity, and sympathy. 510
Encourage Acquiescence and Pursue Indicators of Compliance
At the first signs that a suspect is responding to the interrogator’s suggestions,
the interrogator should “begin to diminish other confession-inhibiting factors and
promote incentives to confess” through theme development such as that suggested
by Reid (discounting fear, minimization, etc.). 511
Consolidate Accomplishments
“When a criminal violator does submit and agrees to cooperate, the gain
should be immediately consolidated and rendered as irreversible as possible.” 512
Aubry
Aubry takes a far less standardized approach to the interrogation process, and
indeed presents no schema for it. Instead, Aubry’s text lists the various approaches
and then discusses the utility of each. Like the other authors, he observes that
interrogation techniques “depend upon the subject’s degree of implication and
participation in the crime; the facts pertinent to his apprehension; the amount
and type of evidence that links him with the crime; and the manner in which he
participated in the crime.” 513
Aubry begins by listing what he calls the various interrogation approaches
and explaining their respective utility. These are:
1. Direct approach – best “where the guilt of the subject is certain, or
reasonably certain;”
2. Indirect approach – best “where the degree of guilt is indicated with
something less than reasonable certitude;”
3. Emotional approach – depends on the personal qualities of the suspect
— religious, emotional, etc.;
4. Subterfuge – “a very effective approach,” but should only be used if
the guilt of the suspect is “reasonably certain,” the “so-called standard
approaches have been tried and have failed,” and the interrogator is very
skilled and experienced in interrogation. 514
The variations on these broad approaches mirror many of the themes that the
Reid Technique suggests in Step 2, and include:
510
Id., p. 122.
511
Id.
512
Id., p. 128.
513
Aubry and Caputo, see note 406, p. 91.
514
Id., p. 75-77.
191