NCJ Number
128327
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 58 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1991) Pages: 39-43
Date Published
1991
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Police interviews of sex offenders should use many of the same techniques used in victim interviews, because sex offenders generally feel right and guilt similar to the victims and they may use psychological defenses to rationalize their behavior.
Abstract
The interviewer must first establish control of the situation by rapidly gathering as much evidence as possible to corroborate the accusation. The interview should take place in the interviewer's workplace. The first part of the interview should be used to establish the authority of the interviewer and the goal of the interview. They should also establish rapport by discussing the suspect's life in general. They should assess the information gained to identify the offender's characteristics based on Groth's clinical profiles of regressed and fixated offenders or Lanning's behavioral profiles of situational and preferential offenders. During the portion of the interview designed to elicit a confession, the interviewer must refrain from being judgmental and should ask the offender for further details. The interviewer's approach must also match the offender's profile. 2 references