Crimes Against Children – Non-Confrontational Investigative Interviewing Techniques

The 3-day WZ Seminar on Investigative Interview Techniques for Crimes Against Children is designed to teach and reinforce the sound fundamentals of the investigative interview process for the investigator that will prove most useful in child abuse investigations. Cases involving crimes against children are complex and emotionally charged. This training course offers law enforcement and child protection agency professionals a broad range of modern methods and proprietary tools to conduct more effective interviews when investigating child assault cases. The class begins with a discussion of the effects of psychological trauma and the process of conducting interviews with those effects in mind. The class then turns to evidence-based strategies for conducting effective investigative interviews with the goal of obtaining actionable information and the truth.

Seminar attendees will learn the impact of trauma on memory recall, the risks of misclassification of behavior and practical tools allowing them to facilitate a productive conversation while investigating these serious crimes. Attendees will learn the value of placing the traumatized individual in the best psychological position to recall the most information about their traumatizing experience, while minimizing any re-traumatization because of the investigation. Attendees will also learn the effect these investigations may have on those conducting them and the importance of self-care for the investigator.

The seminar will explore the importance of rapport in investigative interviews and how to apply these tools in difficult conversations. Principles of honesty, empathy, autonomy, and the ability for the interviewer to react appropriately to resistance will all be discussed. The instructor will also highlight the risk of relying on non­verbal behavior as an indicator of deception, while focusing on other indicators including verifiable facts and increasing cognitive load. The instructor will train attendees on multiple methods including the Fact­ Gathering Interview, Cognitive Interview, Participatory Method and the WZ Non-Confrontational Method while also introducing the P.E.A.C.E. Model

In this seminar, the investigator will discuss various types of child abuse and what each type of crime may tell you about the suspected abuser. The student will also discover how to analyze abuse cases and accurately assess case information. With this detailed knowledge, the investigator will be better prepared to interview suspects. By learning a structured, proven approach will empower the investigator to effectively and efficiently interview the abuser and protect the victim.

Instruction includes a comprehensive overview of a variety of non-confrontational interview techniques to overcome resistance from suspected offenders. The student will learn to offer an empathetic approach, handle resistance, including denials, interpret behavior and understand the strategic need for further exploration. Videos of actual interviews and investigations will be presented and discussed.

The non-confrontational method of interviewing has been recognized for the way it produces faster and more accurate results. The WZ Non-Confrontational Method is a structured, conversational approach that often results in obtaining more accurate information, including an admission (or multiple admissions) without the guilty suspect ever making a denial or protesting their innocence. Moreover, the resulting legally acceptable confession often includes information that was not previously revealed during the investigation.

The multiple strategies taught offer the seminar participant a wide flexibility of approaches permitting them to alter strategies depending on the reactions of the subject. Simply said, if one method is insufficient, the investigator has additional techniques to utilize.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

After completing this course of instruction, the participant will be able to:

• Understand how experiencing a traumatic event will affect the behavior and cognitive abilities of the subject.
• Recognize the variety of causes of trauma and potential difficulties with obtaining information from traumatized individuals.
• Recognize the variety of causes of trauma and potential triggers.
• Utilize the Enhanced Cognitive Interview to improve the subject’s memory recall and obtain more information.
• Describe the key legal and ethical considerations that must be applied when conducting investigative interviews.
• Explain the importance of rapport-building with the abusive subject; demonstrate the ability to strategically build rapport with an interview subject.
• List the key characteristics required of a professional interviewer while handling crimes against children cases.
• Understand and explain the key variables that contribute to proper room set-up for an effective interview.
• Explain the factors that contribute to false confessions; describe the best ways for interviewers to avoid obtaining inaccurate information and false confessions.
• Explain the importance and limitations of behavior interpretations for the professional interviewer; understand why behavior is not an effective tool for evaluating truth and deception. Learn key components to remain objective.
• Describe the key elements of the following interviewing methods; list the advantages/disadvantages of each; explain the circumstances in which each is best utilized while investigating cases of abuse and exploitation.
• Explain the importance of showing empathy; explain the ways that empathy can reduce resistance from an interview subject; discuss how empathy statements resonate with a subject while removing any implied minimization.
• Describe the key factors that cause resistance in investigative interviews; define the two primary types of denials; explain the process of understanding and managing resistance.
• Explain the importance of recognizing acceptance from the interview subject; describe the nature of manifestation of acceptance by the interview subject.
• Describe the best ways to obtain voluntary truthful statements through carefully structured questions.
• Demonstrate the ability to obtain and develop accurate information as well as an admission of wrongdoing to substantiate any information obtained regarding the issue under investigation.
• Explain the process of obtaining a complete and accurate statement (orally and in writing).
• Describe the best practice for professionally concluding an interview; explain the importance of professional closure and reflective evaluation.

SEMINAR TOPICS

Legal Aspects – A discussion of the most common legal issues related to the investigative interviewing process. This section provides insights into the legal framework and recommended guidelines for interviewers to comply. Every interviewer must understand the legal restrictions that govern their efforts. WZ trained interviewers are thoroughly committed to treating everyone with dignity, respect, and fundamental fairness.

Investigative Interview Methods – WZ recognizes the value of several distinct interviewing methods, each presenting the professional interviewer with options. This allows the interviewer to select the method best suited to the interview at hand. This flexibility provides interviewers the opportunity to consider the level of evidence, type of offense, and interviewee characteristics into consideration when preparing the conversation.

Rapport – Establishing rapport is crucial for effective interviewing because it creates an atmosphere of trust and understanding. This evidence-based approach to rapport building will focus on the ability of the interviewer to provide autonomy and show empathy to the subject while maintaining control of the conversation. Application and understanding of both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors.

False Confessions – Instructor will provide an overview of the types of false confessions as supported by case examples and academic research. This session will then further explore the common causes of false or involuntary confessions providing attendees guidance on how to eliminate or mitigate these tactics. Understanding the risks of confrontational, emotional approaches will be discussed to highlight the importance of non-confrontational techniques. This section will also provide participants with practical skills to evaluate their own interviews for these contributors.

Interpreting Behavior – The purpose of this section is to allow investigators to understand the cautions of interpreting behavior while providing them guidance on how to utilize behavioral cues in the interview process in managing the dialogue. Attendees will learn the importance of their own behavior and communication style to create a supportive environment for the conversation.

Elements of an Investigative Interview – The investigative interview is a structured conversation in which the interviewer seeks to elicit accurate, truthful information from the interview subject. The professional interviewer thoughtfully prepares for all interviews by establishing clear goals, developing a strategy, and selecting the interview method best suited for the work at hand. Instructor will discuss how and why question structuring and sequencing is critical to the success of the interview.

Environment – The environment of an interview can impact the comfort level, safety, and effectiveness of the conversation. This section will provide attendees with information on electronic recording, room setup and environmental concerns that may impact the success of the conversation.

Cognitive Interview – A cognitive interview consists of an evidence-based system of tools developed to enhance the recall of the interview subject while preventing contamination of their statements. The method is highly effective in the interview of any cooperative subject who might be having trouble in recalling key details. Additionally, this method provides instruction on increasing the cognitive load of a subject when they may be attempting to fabricate information.

Participatory Method – The Participatory Method is an investigative interview that invites the subject to participate in a strategic conversational process that minimizes resistance and leads investigators to more reliable, verifiable information. It allows subjects an opportunity to define the boundaries of their actions or to present an alibi before any accusation is made or evidence is presented by the interviewer. This effectively increases the power of the evidence and commits the subject into an alibi, story or decision-making process limiting their ability to explain away any incriminating evidence.

WZ Method – This non-confrontational method is a rapport-based approach to the interview which includes a transparent Introductory Statement made by the interviewer. This WZ proprietary technique combines the importance of rapport development, the establishment of credibility and showing empathy into a structured conversation with the subject. The generalized and transferable nature of this method allows interviewers to apply these techniques to a variety of conversations. Through the withholding of evidence, this method often results in disclosures of information that was previously unknown to the interviewer.

Topics included in this module include how to:

• Development of Rapport
• Introduce Who You Are and What You Do
• Discuss Types of Child Crimes Investigated
• Explain How Investigations are Conducted
• Summarize Possible Motives
• Provide Empathy Statements
• Change the Subject’s Perspective
• Address Subject’s Concerns
• Create Timeliness and Protect Evidence
• Recognize Acceptance
• Obtain the Truth with Assessment Questions
• Development of Details and Substantiation
• Obtaining a Written or Recorded Summary Statement

Establishing Credibility – Attendees will learn the importance of a non-confrontational approach to initiating an interview which may cause deceptive applicants to become more concerned with investigators tools.

Showing Empathy – Showing empathy and understanding has been proven as a necessary and effective tool in developing rapport. This concept is critical in non-confrontational interviewing, as it contributes to the goal of creating an atmosphere of trust, transparency, and mutual understanding. This dramatically reduces resistance and provides the subject with the opportunity to disclose the truth in a cooperative environment.

Understanding Resistance – A discussion on the reasons why subjects may be resistant to disclosing information to the interviewer. The causes of resistance, including categories of the environment, the interviewer, and the subject themselves will be discussed in detail. The types of denials, how to recognize them and proper responses will also be explored. This segment also covers backing out of an interview and how to manage uncooperative or hostile subjects.

Assessment Questions – This section will detail a variety of question formats to utilize if a subject is willing to disclose information. Attendees will learn how to translate questions into multiple case types or scenarios, and they will understand the implications of asking poorly framed questions. The instructor will also discuss how to challenge subjects on contradictions in their story and/or the available evidence.

Develop Details – Developing the admission is the process of expanding the subject’s acknowledgement of involvement into an actionable account of the events under investigation. The scope of development includes elements of the act, identification of co-conspirators and other details that are required in the pursuit of the investigative objectives. Attendees will learn how to apply fact-gathering techniques to extract details to substantiate any admissions made by the subject.