Investigation
Interviewing Tips
Click Here to go back to Tips and
News main page
-
Before
interviewing the suspect if possible visit his or her office. There
will probably be numerous indicators of his or her personality that
will help you in your interview.
-
Has
the suspect’s office got items that are calculated to impress
visitors, such as leather covered desktops, fancy pen and pencil sets,
expensive cardholders, costly picture frames, and so on?
If there are many of these items the suspect may try to impress the
interviewer. Asking questions that give him or her the opportunity to
boast are likely to result in the suspect giving you information they
did not intend to.
-
Are
there framed photographs of friends and especially work colleagues in
the office?
If there are, it may indicate that he or she cares a great deal for
workmates and what they think.
Peer pressure may thus be an important factor in his or her decision
to confess or hold out.
-
What
books are in the suspect’s office? Career oriented books may
indicate seriousness, ambition and conscientiousness.
Unread books may indicate a lack of commitment.
A collection of books that are not related to work in an office are
generally significant because they could easily be kept at home, but
are not.
-
Look
at the suspect’s calendar. The calendar may indicate the suspect’s
hobby or interest, which is useful to use in the interview to
establish rapport.
-
Are
there photographs of the suspect with celebrities or senior people at
work?
If these are prominently displayed they may be little more than visual
bragging.
Playing to the suspect’s ego or sense of pride may be a useful tool
in convincing him or her to confess.
The suspect may be more of an emotional than a logical person, so
taking an emotional approach in questioning may produce far better
results than a strictly logical one.
-
Look
closely at the suspect’s desk calendar/diary.
There have been numerous cases of suspect’s writing incriminating
information in their desk calendars.
These have included records of acts done for which they received
bribes, records of meetings with others involved in frauds or
corruption, details of where fraudulently obtained funds are hidden or
spent, etc
-
Are
there pictures of pets, kittens, puppies and other animals displayed
in the office?
These generally indicate a more emotional person.
In the interview using a logical approach in questioning and relying
on the strength of the evidence is not likely to be as successful as
using a more emotional approach.
A more emotional approach relies to a greater degree on appeals to
conscience, discussing the effect of the fraud on others, emphasising
the cathartic relief of confessing, considering the person’s family,
etc.
Click Here to go back to
Tips and News main page
For
more tips, advice and practical pointers see our Investigation Manual.
|