NCJ Number
194240
Date Published
2002
Length
183 pages
Annotation
This book presents a method for interviewing witnesses and victims that enables the interviewer to determine the truthfulness of the information supplied.
Abstract
The authors first review the history of "the search for truth," including the various instrumentations and theories used to assess the truthfulness of statements. They note that although the Forensic Assessment Interview, a noninstrumental analysis, may seem limited in lacking a technological reference, it offers a considerable advantage; i.e., the absence of technology leaves the suspect less aware of what is being monitored and less guarded and intimidated. Most important, the interviewer can evaluate a broader range of suspect responses to make a reliable assessment of witness/suspect credibility. The book identifies the psycho-physiological basis of the forensic assessment, which is a complex and specific range of physiological changes that occur spontaneously as an individual consciously or unconsciously perceives a threat to his immediate well-being. A person who is attempting to avoid the adverse consequences of being convicted of a crime uses deception in an interview as a survival technique, and this involves the instinctive activation of the various mechanisms of the autonomic nervous system in a response commonly called the "fight or flight" response mechanism. After reviewing this psychological/biological basis for detecting deception, the book describes how to prepare for the interview/interrogation so as to maximize the circumstances that facilitate the detection of deception. The authors then describe two non-technological techniques for detecting deception in an interview: the Morgan Interview Theme Technique, which uses interviewee responses to sketches that resemble various types of crime scenes, and Scientific Content Analysis (SCAN), which involves a scientific analysis of the structure and content of a statement. The book then addresses interview question formulation, the projective analysis of unwitting verbal cues, nonverbal behavioral assessment, behavioral assessment, legal consideration, recordings and videos of statements, and the presentation of the integrated interrogation technique. 44-item bibliography, appended interview format and pre-employment booklet, and author and subject indexes