Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

ut who do not necessarily have any specialized interrogation training. It thus
appears that U.S. law enforcement does not perceive interrogation as a specialty,
but instead as one of the many skills required by a general investigator’s job.
Both the FBI and FLETC teach trainees to present suspects directly with
the evidence linking them to the crime. The literature generally shies away
from such an approach. Although Reid’s Step 1 involves direct, confrontational
accusation, it does not appear to advocate the exhaustive presentation of evidence
taught by the FBI and FLETC. However, law enforcement personnel repeatedly
observed that unless the authorities present the evidence in a comprehensive way,
more sophisticated suspects will have no reason to confess. In an argument that
appears a logical extension of Reid, they noted that theme presentation is useless
unless the suspects truly believe that they will be prosecuted and convicted. The
Boston Police Department’s experience with gang members seems to be similar,
especially because detectives note the lack of guilt or remorse among suspects.
At the same time, the literature does suggest that with this type of more rational
(as opposed to emotional) suspect, a straightforward presentation is appropriate.
However, as opposed to the qualified application of this technique advocated in
the literature, FBI and FLETC training prescribes the presentation of evidence to
all suspects, regardless of their personality traits.
The reliance on presentation of evidence by law enforcement personnel
points to an underlying factor in Reid and its variations that no one — either
in the literature or among those conducting interrogations — seems to discuss
directly: fear. Although the literature, the training, and the discussions with law
enforcement personnel heavily emphasize rapport-building as the main tool for
interrogators, it appears that without some underlying fear interrogations will
rarely succeed. It seems that, in practice, law enforcement personnel rely on fear
of prosecution and conviction as the major motivator for a confession. Perhaps this
is not mentioned explicitly because it is such a basic assumption, but it is worth
noting that rapport-building alone, at least in the opinion of many interrogation
trainers, does not seem to convince suspects to confess unless they have some
underlying fear of the consequences of refusal to cooperate.
Because of its importance both in the literature and in practice, rapport-building
should be carefully examined for what it is and what it is not. Inexperienced
trainees, and those who only read the classic texts, seem to understand rapportbuilding
as an attempt to establish what almost constitutes a friendship between
interrogator and suspect. This view encourages chit-chat and small talk in essence
to build a relationship based on good will. The rapport-building encouraged by
experienced practitioners is more often based on respect for the interrogator and
on professionalism. Hence the Boston homicide investigators dress in suits and
shake hands with the suspects, and FBI instructors state that they try to be one
of the few decent people with whom the suspect has interacted in his lifetime. In
practice, attempts to build rapport based on friendship and good will are often
perceived as forced and false, and, thus, it is more useful simply to treat the suspect
as an equal human being. Some texts note that many suspects will be immediately
228