ChickenPants
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In researching interview and investigation techniques, I came across this information from a good site. This raises questions again in my mind about SP, the MPR statements, and etc. It is crucial who reported what to whom, and why. MOO take it or leave it.
When a subject's response includes communication with others, whether it be telephonic, personal, an electronic message, or written communication, a door has been opened for further insight to the subject's possible guilt, or innocence in the crime. Too often, however, an investigator will simply note that the communication took place and perhaps the time of the communication but not pursue its contents. At a minimum, the subject should be asked who the communication was with, and what was said. In a recent consultation involving a possibly fabricated crime, the husband, who discovered the crime, called his wife before reporting it to the police. Unfortunately, the investigator did not pursue this conversation. Obvious interview questions would have been, "What did you tell your wife?"; "What was her reaction?" "How long did the conversation last" and, "Why did you call your wife before the police?".
As a final example of the importance of pursuing conversations, consider the common situation in which an individual, who becomes a suspect, is close to the crime ( a victim, the person who reported the crime, an individual who was initially questioned at the scene). When that person returns home he has a choice of either sharing his experience with family members and friends or keeping it a secret. When this subject is subsequently interviewed, the investigator should ask, "Who did you tell about (incident)?" Considering that it is human nature to share emotional events with loved ones, it is very suspicious if the subject states that he told no one about the incident. It is rare for us to interview an innocent person who has not shared the crime experience with a loved one. Keeping the crime a secret is much more often observed from the guilty subject, usually accompanied by some excuse, "I didn't want to upset my wife", "My parents are real busy and I didn't want to bother them with this", "I figured this is my problem and I should handle it on my own."
When a subject's response includes communication with others, whether it be telephonic, personal, an electronic message, or written communication, a door has been opened for further insight to the subject's possible guilt, or innocence in the crime. Too often, however, an investigator will simply note that the communication took place and perhaps the time of the communication but not pursue its contents. At a minimum, the subject should be asked who the communication was with, and what was said. In a recent consultation involving a possibly fabricated crime, the husband, who discovered the crime, called his wife before reporting it to the police. Unfortunately, the investigator did not pursue this conversation. Obvious interview questions would have been, "What did you tell your wife?"; "What was her reaction?" "How long did the conversation last" and, "Why did you call your wife before the police?".
As a final example of the importance of pursuing conversations, consider the common situation in which an individual, who becomes a suspect, is close to the crime ( a victim, the person who reported the crime, an individual who was initially questioned at the scene). When that person returns home he has a choice of either sharing his experience with family members and friends or keeping it a secret. When this subject is subsequently interviewed, the investigator should ask, "Who did you tell about (incident)?" Considering that it is human nature to share emotional events with loved ones, it is very suspicious if the subject states that he told no one about the incident. It is rare for us to interview an innocent person who has not shared the crime experience with a loved one. Keeping the crime a secret is much more often observed from the guilty subject, usually accompanied by some excuse, "I didn't want to upset my wife", "My parents are real busy and I didn't want to bother them with this", "I figured this is my problem and I should handle it on my own."
