Interviewing and Interrogation

The goal in an interrogation, or in any situation where a person with information might be uncooperative, is to effect a transition in willingness ― ethically and legally. A successful interrogation becomes, in fact, an interview when the subject grows willing to yield details freely and honestly. In order to initiate this transition, the interrogator/interviewer must understand the subject's motivation, the basics of effective inquiry, and techniques of ethical and legal persuasion. They must also recognize the process by which those interviewed can deceive ― and how deception can be detected. This book demonstrates to interviewers the fundamentals of effective inquiry.

Rabon has divided the text into six chapters. Each chapter is organized around the concept of process, which indicates that there is a way to proceed and that the procedure involves specific steps. Each of the first five chapters is followed by a series of questions and is accompanied by an appendix containing exercises designed to reinforce the concepts contained in the chapter. The sixth chapter provides an opportunity to apply the inquiry and persuasion techniques developed in previous chapters to the transcript of an actual interview.

The new edition places added emphasis on the interview process and the requisite skills of the interviewer. The questioning portion is expanded as well as the detecting deception portion. More emphasis is placed on the "how-to" in this edition of the text.

The Teacher's Manual is available electronically on a CD or via email. Please contact Beth Hall at bhall@cap-press.com to request a copy.

Don Rabon is retired from his position as Deputy Director of the Western Campus of the North Carolina Justice Academy.

Tanya Chapman is a retired professor from the North Carolina Justice Academy.