HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW WITH A SUSPECT USING BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS

HOW TO CONDUCT AN INTERVIEW WITH A SUSPECT,

USING BEHAVIORAL ANALYSIS

______________________________________________________________________________

BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS DIRECTED INTERVIEW (example questions)

1. Begin with neutral questions: i.e. complete name, age, address, employment, etc.

Two fold purpose:: first to acclimate the suspect to the interrogation environment and, at the same time 2) to afford the interrogator an opportunity to evaluate the suspect’s normal verbal and non-verbal behavioral patters.

2.) Incorporate "do you know" questions: “Do you know why you are here?” or “Do you know why we are here?”

If the suspect is vague, naïve, or evasive in his reply, such as “I suppose you want to talk about what happened to ____________” etc. that should be viewed in a different light than if he very bluntly states “You’re trying to find out who ______ The latter response is more characteristic of that of an innocent person. For the guilty, he words ______ will likely be too inflammatory and emotional for him to use.

3.) Following the know "why" question it is generally appropriate to say: We have interviewed a lot of people, the pieces are falling together quickly, if you had anything to do with this you should tell me.This offers him an opportunity to readily admit his involvement if that be the case. In the absences of the unlikely occurrence of a sudden admission of guilt, the interrogator’s statement will nevertheless serve the purpose of inducing a display of behavioral responses suggestive of either guilt or innocence.

Compare both verbal and non-verbal behavior. Contrast

4.) Assessing the suspect's knowledge in and around crime:, the victim, and possible suspects. If he is innocent, he is thereby given an opportunity to divulge possibly helpful information that might not have been disclosed otherwise. On the other hand, if guilty, he is placed in a vulnerable defensive position. He may make a remark that would be indicative of guilt or would lead to a specific line of questioning.

The following series of questions should be asked for the purpose of evoking behavioral responses indicative of either guilt or innocence:

5.) Ask the suspect specifically, "why do you think SOMEONE would

do this?"

THE PURPOSE  of this question is to ascertain the suspects perception of the motive for the crime. The guilty individual will be faced with a dilemma when asked this because, in essence, he is being asked to reveal why he her. In an effort to conceal any indication of his involvement he may hesitate or else repeat the question as a stalling tactic in order to construct what he believes to be an acceptable answer. On some occasions a guilty suspect may even reveal his true motive by offering an explanation such as “maybe there was an argument, or maybe someone was drinking or on drugs.” If the guilty individual does not offer an excuse he usually will respond with “I never thought about it.” When someone who you knew is , as in this case. It is only natural to think about a possible motive or cause for the incident. In conjunction with this type of verbal response, the suspect may engage in a variety of nonverbal gestures suggestive of his discomfort and concern over the question.

Whereas the innocent individual may also make a similar statement such as “I don’t know why anyone would do this, she didn’t have an enemy in the world”, or “the must be insane”. In making those comments he would maintain direct eye contact and would probably lean forward in his chair.

6.) Ask specifically WHO is "above suspicion."

This question is an INVITE  to the suspect to assist in the investigation. If he is being truthful, he will readily name specific individuals whom he feels would be above reproach or for whom he would vouch as not being involved in ____________________ death. He will not be afraid to eliminate certain persons from suspicion. If, on the other hand, he is guilty, his response might be noncommittal. Guilty suspects usually do not want to eliminate any one individual from suspicion because that would tend to narrow the search down to them. They might respond, therefore, by saying, “I don’t know; its hard to say what people might do.” Meanwhile, they may shift around in the chair or engage in some other types of movement, break eye contact and display other non-verbal behavior indicative of guilt.

If the suspect names himself as above suspicion, no absolute inference should be drawn, but it must be noted this type of response is more typical of the deceptive suspect than of the innocent.

7.) Ask specifically, "WHO do you think, did this?"

The innocent suspect is likely to provide name(s) where as the guilty suspect usually will not reveal a suspicion about anyone else, no matter how much effort is made to have him do so.

8.) Ask specifically, "what should happen to THE PERSON who

committed this crime?

The INNOCENT  person will indicate some significant punishment, such as going to the penitentiary or receiving the death penalty. In contrast, if he is guilty, the suspect will try not to answer the question. He likely will say “It’s not up to me” or “who am I to pass judgement?” or may indicate the offender should be asked the reason for committing the crime. The underlying explanation for this evasion is that were he to suggest a penalty, he would in effect be prescribing his own punishment. In the event a guilty suspect does indicate severe punishment, any accompanying nonverbal behaviors will likely believe the sincerity of the answer.

9.) ASK the suspect WHAT do  you think about ___________________, even though you didn’t go through with it.If he acknowledges he has thought about it at minimum