The Bull Don’t Care
The bull don’t care how you planned to ride. In the interview room, staying present means listening beyond the answer you want, recognizing what the subject gives you, and adapting your approach.
Narrative or Accusatory? One Builds a Case. One Breaks It.
Narrative and accusatory interviewing are more than different techniques—they represent two fundamentally different investigative philosophies. One is designed to gather and evaluate information. The other often begins with the objective of obtaining admissions or confessions. Those choices influence the quantity, quality, and reliability of the evidence investigators ultimately present in court.
The Crime Before the Crime?
Most investigations begin with the crime. The better question is: When did the crime really begin? Long before the act itself, offenders often progress through a series of decisions involving distorted thinking, planning, preparation, and commitment. Understanding that sequence can change how investigators conduct interviews—and how they build stronger cases.
Yackey Yak Will Cost You the Facts
Many investigators believe talking demonstrates control. In reality, excessive talking suppresses the subject’s narrative, increases the risk of contamination, and reduces statement reliability. Learn why disciplined silence is one of the most powerful—and overlooked—skills in investigative interviewing.
The Risks of Echo Chamber Training: “Beam Us Up, Scotty”
Unsupported ideas can spread through interview and interrogation courses simply because they are repeated. This article examines how echo chamber instruction takes hold, why repetition is mistaken for proof, and the risks it creates for investigators.
False Confessions Don’t Happen in a Vacuum
False confessions rarely emerge from a single tactic. More often, they develop through premature assumptions, confirmation bias, contamination, and unreliable deception assessments that gradually compromise statement reliability. This article examines how interviewer decisions can influence investigative outcomes long before a confession is obtained.
Confirmation Bias Doesn’t Begin in the Interview Room
Confirmation bias is often described as an interviewer problem.In reality, it frequently begins long before the interview itself.Investigators are trained to recognize patterns, interpret behaviors, and make rapid assessments under pressure. The danger emerges when those assessments become presumptive—when early interpretations begin shaping how information is heard, filtered, and pursued.Once an interview becomes presumptive, the interviewer may unknowingly begin: • seeking confirmation instead of clarification, • interpreting uncertainty as deception, • overlooking contradictory information, • and feeding details that contaminate reliability.The result is not simply a poor interview.It is an interview shaped by premature cognitive commitment.
Will Your Interview Training Survive Courtroom Scrutiny?
Investigative interviewing is one of the most legally high-risk operational skills in modern policing — yet it is rarely audited against modern scientific or courtroom standards. This article examines why Daubert scrutiny should influence interview and interrogation training long before a case reaches the courtroom, and why reliability must begin in the training room.