Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

- Indifference - Sympathy or Sympathetic
- “Too Great a Temptation”
- “Only Human to Have Acted
That Way”
- Kindness - Helpful
- Friendliness - Extenuation
- Mitigation - Shifting the Blame
- “Hot and Cold” - Lessening the Degree of Guilt
- Magnifying the Degree of Guilt - Minimizing the Consequences
- The “Fait Accompli” - Bluffing
- The Stern, Business-like Approach - Compounding Falsehoods
- Pretense of Physical Evidence - Repetition of One Theme
- Mental Relief Through Having - Perseverance
Told the Truth
- Appeals to Decency and Honor - “What’s Your Side of the Story”
- Tearing Down and Building Up - “Just Tell the Truth.” 515
Each of these approaches and variations is explained in detail in Chapter
5 of the Aubry text. Aubry then lists several “general” interrogation techniques,
including:
• Crumble defenses by establishing motive, premeditation, capability and
opportunity of and to [sic] commit the crime.
• Establish and demonstrate intent.
• Hammer away at the subject hard and persistently.
• Nibble off little pieces of the interrogation cake. Concentrate on crumbs,
don’t bite off pieces too big to chew.
• Ask concise, brief questions, trim off all extra words. Be specific. Be
exact. Ask questions that can be answered by simple yes or no. Practice
and seek for economy of words.
• Do not ask questions which request or invite the expression of an
opinion.
• Avoid leading questions as well as opinion questions because both types
are weak and ineffective techniques; leading questions are, in a sense,
“unfair to the subject.” 516
Aubry finally presents a list of specific interrogation techniques, with an entire
chapter then devoted to the type of suspect with which each may be successful.
The specific techniques include:
515
Id., p. 75.
516
Id., p. 104.
192