The Art of Interrogation

I recently saw a show on Discovery channel that talked about the science of interrogations and how good cops can get confessions out of people who don't want to talk without physical coercion. It really is an art.

Science of Interrogations

There are 3 phases of interrogations:

Phase 1: This is where the interrogator tries to form a link with the suspect. He seeks to befriend him, and establishes some kind of baseline, observing the suspect, listening to him without interruption or making judgments. Trying to build rapport, to develop a relationship. Here they will try to find things they have in common, sports, jobs, family, pets, likes and dislikes. The interrogator will remain friendly and interested throughout, no matter what the suspect may say. A good cop will be able to keep a straight face even if a suspect describes abhorrent things like child abuse or hate crimes on various groups (women, gays, Muslims, etc). He will encourage the suspect to keep talking no matter what. This can include offering drinks, or food.

Phase 2: This is the narrative part of the interrogation. The interrogator will get the suspect to go through the events of the day in question. They want the suspect to tell them a story, in as much detail as possible. The interrogator will not challenge the suspect, or call attention to obvious lies or discrepancies, but will just let the suspect talk.

During this phase the interrogator might leave the suspect alone and watch him through the 2-way mirror. Sometimes, when the suspect is concocting a story that they need to 'make sense' they will have to act it out -- they showed an interrogation of a man who was accused of killing his wife, and he told a story about where his bruises and cuts came from. When the cops left him alone, they video taped him 'acting out' his story about playing with his daughter, and went so far as to mimic what he thought his movements should be in order to make the story believable.

They also look for over explaining. Then a suspect goes into great detail about something that most people would just say 'I cut myself shaving' and they go off on some long story about exactly where and how they cut themselves, those are red flags.

Phase 3: Here the interrogator starts to take off the gloves and the traps they set during phase 2 will be sprung. In the second phase, when they are left to talk, they are more likely to give something away if they are not stopped in their narration. In the next phase, this will be brought back and they will be challenged on the discrepancies in their stories. At this point suspects will either try to change their story, adapt to it what they think the interrogator wants to hear, or they will try to explain the discrepancies. Either way, it gives the interrogator more ammunition to throw at him.

Another tactic is to develop 'themes'. The interrogator will offer reasonable explanations for what happened. Their goal is to give the suspect an 'out' so they can explain or justify what they did. The interrogator will play any angle he thinks will work – to a man who hated his wife, he may play the 'Jesus, you should meet my bitch of a wife. I'd like to clock her sometimes' or the child abuser -- 'I know how flirtatious those little brats can be, acting all innocent when really, they know exactly what they're doing. They want it.' All tricks to gain the suspects trust and make them seem simpatico. This is where it is critical for the interrogator not to react in any way but calm acceptance to what the interviewee says.

Interrogators will look for deception clues. These include:

1. Aversion -- avoiding eye contact, twisting away or dropping the eyes.
2. Verbal clues -- stuttering, repetition, extra emphasis on certain words.
3. Cognitive dissonance -- they will be saying something, but their body language or words will show they mean something else.
4. Qualifying statements -- where they feel compelled to explain what they mean. Like the over explanations talked about earlier.
5. Overselling -- they really, really need to convince you or their sincerity and will go to extreme lengths to do so. In phase 2 the interrogator will let the suspect go on at length about this, letting them hang themselves as it were.
6. Micro-expressions -- this takes close observations, or even video taping, to see the tiny changes in a suspect's face that seem out of place. A man smiles for a micro second when mentioning his wife's death, while trying to maintain how heartbroken he is.