Law Enforcement - How Most Law Enforcement Officers Interview People

Most Law Enforcement Officers rely on confrontational, accusatory methods of interviewing, coupled with an assessment of non-verbal behavior (body language) to elicit admissions and confessions.

Yet, these methods are not successful in a large percentage of cases.

Consider the following:

• At least 50% of interview methods currently being taught to law enforcement officers are non-productive (Fisher, Geiselman and Raymond).

• Law Enforcement Officers score no better than chance (50/50) when asked to evaluate body language for truthfulness or deception (Ekman & O'Sullivan).

• Law Enforcement Officers put blind faith in the principles that advocate judging deception by evaluating body language (Gudjonsson).

• The published success rates of officers getting admissions or confessions, using a confrontational approach, averages less than 40% (Gudjonsson, Baldwin, Leo).

So why do we continue to use methods and principles that are not very productive (at best) or counter-productive (at worst)?

Primarily because that's what we've been taught in Law Enforcement basic training and what's been in use over time.

The Law Enforcement community has been likened to a great train. It takes enormous time and energy to start the train moving and, once moving, it doesn't want to stop. Moreover, the train always wants to stay on the same track because switching to another track is a laborious, time-consuming process.

We know from scientific studies conducted by behavioral scientists, coupled with the untold work experience of polygraph examiners and law enforcement officials, that there are essentially two types of interviews used in law enforcement: the accusatory (confrontational) approach (which is primary) and the narrative (non-confrontational) approach, used as a secondary approach.

We know from those same studies that the following is true:

• The most predominate interview method employed in law enforcement today is the accusatory, (confrontational) method, even though every modern, published shows it to be the least effective.

• The most productive interview method studied is the narrative, subject-driven (non-confrontational) approach, yet this method has not traditionally been emphasized.

Aside from the fact that confrontational interviewing doesn't work as well as conversational interviewing, it suffers from a huge problem: it looks bad to the public.

When a member of the public, the media or a juror sees a high-energy, confrontational interview, the net effect is a feeling of coercion.

There are some interviewing techniques which are conversational in nature and provide a narrative, non-confrontational approach to interviewing which has proven to be very easy to use and extremely productive.

It has the added bonus of being "politically correct" when viewed by members of the media and public.

Chip Morgan is the author of the most exciting, easy to use, interview and interrogation system the law enforcement profession has ever seen!

Check it Out Here Right Now! http://www.focusedinterview.com

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