Week 7: Interviewing Techniques

In a recent court case, the judge commented:

“I do not adhere to the approach taken by the interviewers of the defendant. Strong evidence has been provided that the confession obtained from the defendant was under duress, particularly in relation to the time taken and the heavy handed interrogation of the defendant as witnessed in the video viewed in court this morning. Consequently, as the prosecution’s case relies heavily on the confession provided by the defendant, the case is dismissed.”

In light of what you have learnt about interview techniques and rules of evidence for admissibility, outline the ‘do nots’ of interviewing. What recommendations would you make to forensic accountants on how interviews should be approached?

What are your views/experiences? What alternative approach would you suggest and why?

Provide support for your answer.

Above, it is seen that a judge can dismiss evidence, and subsequently a whole case, merely because the witness was incorrectly interviewed. Had I read this statement years ago, I would have believed it harsh to dismiss the case just because the prosecution questioned in a “heavy-handed” manner. Now, however, I understand the judge’s reasoning.

An interview is an information gathering expedition in which the questioning is non-accusatory in nature. An interrogation is where questioning becomes accusatory, but this only occurs once there is reasonable certainty that the suspect is guilty (Penven, D., 2013; Hoffman, C., 2005), and a confession can never be obtained under duress (Evidence, 1960).

There are a number of interviewing methods are acceptable in Court, including the REID, PEACE, and MI methods, and I would recommend any of these to forensic accountant interviewers.

(Rodgers, G., 2016) 

(Investigative Interviewing, 2016)

(TheNCTN, 2012)

I have interviewed (and been interviewed) numerous times, and I believe I have valuable insights regarding interviewing techniques, so I compiled a list of ‘do nots’ for any FAs about to perform an interview.

1. Do not disclose evidence at the beginning of an interview as it allows the witness time to come up with false accounts;
2. Do not make promises (e.g. "tell me and I'll reduce your sentence") (Hoffman, C., 2005);
3. Do not be accusatory (all three questioning methods emphasise building rapport, which likely won't occur if you are accusatory)(Van Akkeren, J., 2016); and
4. Do not ask closed questions (in my experience I have found that the manner/words you use when questioning significantly affect the answer received , and the three interviewing techniques above confirm this belief in asking open-ended questions)(Van Akkeren, J., 2016).

Sources

Evidence. (1960). Admissibility of Confessions – Judge’s Rules. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AdelLawRw/1960/9.pdf

Hoffman, C. (2005). Investigative Interviewing: Strategies and Techniques. International Foundation for Protection Officers. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from http://www.ifpo.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/interviewing.pdf

Investigative Interviewing. (2016). College of Policing. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from https://www.app.college.police.uk/app-content/investigations/investigative-interviewing/#peace-framework

Penven, D. (2013). Interview vs. Interrogation. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from http://www.csitechblog.com/2013/09/interview-vs-interrogation-part-1.html

Rodgers, G. (2016). Police Interrogations – The 9 Step REID Technique. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from http://dyingwords.net/police-interrogations-9-step-reid-technique/#sthash.8F6qgtbF.dpbs

TheNCTN. (2012). Principles of Motivational Interviewing. [Video File]. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICm2ZMNsngg

Van Akkeren, J. (2016). AYB115 Governance, Fraud & Investigation: Lecture 8 [Lecture Slides]. Retrieved May 8^th, 2016, from https://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_123312_1&content_id=_6144810_1