Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Once the agents have completed their topical outline, they are ready to conduct
the interrogation. FLETC teaches a five-step interview/interrogation technique: 1)
Introduction, 2) Rapport, 3) Questions, 4) Review, and 5) Closing. This approach
is meant to be used in all federal law enforcement interviews, but has special
application in an interrogation. For instance, to pass the CITP Confrontational
Interview Practical Exercise, the students must “demonstrate comprehension of
principles and use of skills competencies for the following:
• Introduction
• Self
• Partner
• Suspect
• Purpose
• Credentials
• Rapport
• Properly Established
• Properly Maintained
• Questions
• General Questions
• Case Presentation — Monologue (Factual Presentation, Themes,
and Choice Questions)
• Recognize and Utilize Suspect’s Nonverbal Behavior
• Demonstrate Effective Personal Nonverbal Behavior
• Appropriate Use of Pauses
• Summary
• Acknowledge Suspect’s Cooperation
• Summarize Main Points from Notes
• Closing
• Acknowledge Suspect’s Cooperation
• Contact Information — Primary, Secondary, Suspect” 584
The case presentation step mirrors the FBI and Reid interrogation techniques,
with the students taught the following: present the evidence they have gathered
that implicates the suspects and thus overwhelm them with the evidence of
their guilt; present the themes of rationalization, projection, and minimization,
as appropriate; and then present a “choice question.” The emphasis is on the
students’/agents’ doing all the talking in this phase of the interrogation; they are
taught to cut off and overcome objections to avoid an argumentative exchange
that would threaten to ruin the interrogation. FLETC instructors described the
584
Syllabus, CITP Confrontational Interview Practical Exercise, FLETC Course # 4179, February
2005.
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