FIELD INTERVIEWS: INTERVIEW OR INTERROGATE

[Music] [Laughter] 860 860 shift commander has requested your unit respond to accident scene take command of rescue and clearing problem qfl 860 wreckers crane and other emergency vehicles are enroute all units south district 1240 has intercepted wanted 68 chevy at southwest 112th street and third avenue the street where a policeman walks or rides is a world which conspires to keep secrets after you attend all the courses get all the degrees there's still one thing left street sense every department has certain men who are respected because they know the street they talk they listen they know what's happening they know how to ask questions to some officers asking questions means interrogation but words like people sometimes get bad reputations the dictionary says interrogation means systematic questions a demand for an answer an aggressive challenging hostile attitude i don't want you guys hanging around here do you understand i've told you before and i don't want to tell you again now you see what i mean you're dumb asset you're blocking the sidewalk you either get in that pool room or you get down the street man you're the one blocking the sidewalk listen boy i don't want a trouble out for some time now police science has been making note of an interesting point the officers with street sense don't interrogate they interview a new term field interview to some policemen the words just don't ring right an interview is what you give to reporters a cop interrogates oh no not this guy again so they interrogate and they don't get answers and they don't have street sense and sometimes they wonder why let's forget it man no sweat he's gone let's go being tough works if you already know the answers or you don't care about the answers [Music] [Applause] there are many cases which can only be solved by the intelligent use of the interview they had masked and they got the casting register they must have panicked as they killed this guy's partner i put a description out on the card you get that yeah you did good you see what's he doing here you know anything about him yeah he drives a tan pontiac give him three tickets a week that's all you know about him what else do i need to know about them you need any help anything my guys can do smitty i'd like you to take your men out to canvas the neighborhood and see if you can get any witnesses okay on history lots of luck somerset just go out and give it a try okay okay let's go over to the fish mister i'm sergeant mike clerk according to jerry green from sign i don't think i can talk to you paul's right now i'm pretty broken up about this mr stria there's just a few things we have to know right now jerry would you speak with him sure and your home address 1865. the subtleties of conducting a field interview are endless but the basics come down to ten rules learn the facts first don't be stampeded into asking your important investigative questions before you know what you're doing he was black and he had a silk stocking pulled over his head mr stryker can you give me a description a second robber rule two size up your subject rule three plan your strategy who's the best person to do the questioning should the atmosphere be serious sympathetic is the subject willing or hostile how about their accent sounded average to me did you see any vehicles out front just that chrome gun hey i want to talk to you two dudes come on you know what do you see what happened across the street no way baby christ you guys must have seen rule four privacy is important this is one of the most violated rules of all don't make it a circus listen i know you guys saw what went on across the street i'd like to have some answers rule five don't create a challenge don't let your words or attitude indicate i'm going to make you tell me what you know avoid the hostile gestures the jaw thrust out the arms folded rule six talk at the subject's level you can't use street talk for instance if it's not natural but you should find a level of conversation which is comfortable and easy for the subject to understand i didn't say nothing rule seven try to avoid a false story once a man tells you a lie chances are he'll feel obligated to stick with it let him know when what he's saying doesn't add up but try to do it without calling him a liar once you do that the interview is usually over you don't see the guy you don't see the car i swear to god i know don't get angry unless it's part of your strategy think before you talk don't indicate your annoyance if you lose your cool you won't pay attention and you [Applause] psychology relate to your subject there are many good books to help you read them be watchful learn the signs of lying try to understand different types of people be a professional how big was the gun oh a cannon cannon rule 10 and this is the most important of all be nice try to get your subject to like you to feel confidence in you a very few people respond best to an aggressive approach but they are exceptions which prove the rule when you're asking for information remember you're asking if you're polite if you're considerate you've got a better chance of getting information and in police work information is very often the name of the game i swear to god mike this doesn't give me much to go on one was black one was white that's unusual stocking mask a yellow toyota pickup come on don run it through your toy and see what you get all right i'll give it a try by the way don what's your baby say about the rams and vikings this weekend vikings by 14 14 huh max what are you having a salt and pepper team pulling robberies downtown using a revolver stocking mask yellow toyota something like that sounds exactly like john carter smith dave lamport you got an address yeah state prison you ought to be out by the year 2000 thanks a lot maxie come on maxie think you don't have anybody else anybody will fit close nobody that's out walking around mike you know it's going to be tough that's what the computer said too see you later wilson you ride the north in tonight one more thing detective sergeant clerk wants to say something mike gentlemen earlier this morning we had a robbery homicide at northeast 2nd avenue and 3rd street to the police department to the community field information is useless unless it is requested given shared evaluated black male approximately six foot tall no other description incredibly enough officers sometimes fail to remember that among their best sources are their fellow policemen last seen leaving the scene a yellow toyota one of the subjects was on with a handgun there are three basic inquiry situations in which the interview technique is preferred to interrogation or demand for information situation one is most difficult for many officers to accept this situation begins when you are suddenly confronted with subjects you have never seen before in circumstances which arouse your suspicions but which may prove to be nothing man this ain't no car this is a seat on the 50-yard line you're interrupting the game if you bull your way into a situation like this you may have to fight your way up you know where i am get out of the car what for what for up against it you're sitting behind the wheel with that driver's license hey what are you doing to my brother [Applause] legally at best this officer is on very shaky ground from a common sense point of view he's got no defense at all how much easier in a situation such as this to take down the license number radio for a check and then ask questions in an easy way situation two your subject is not a suspect and there is no custody you have encountered him or sought him out either for general or specific information here the legal grounds are not tricky but the techniques are every section every shift has its own particular crime problems how to circulate how to be natural what to look for that's your challenge you want some coffee yeah hello roy your wife have that baby yet man i'm still ticked off about you putting my brother in jail hell roy if i would have recommended probation he'd be in the slammer for boost and hubcaps i'll tell you something those friends of his are bad dudes a lot more than hubcaps why don't you tell me something i don't know all right in a month those guys gonna pull a job a big one you don't know that you're just guessing and fishing hell no i'm gonna tell you something else they're gonna bungle it because they don't have any brains and when they get caught your brother's ass is going to be right with them yeah i know understanding that look out the night they knocked off smitty's joint come on that job had their mark all over it they wanted him to but i told him i'd knock his teeth out you can't do that forever roy i want to bust those guys i need your help you have to decide what's important to you and what you're asking is heavy do you like your brother come on man what kind of a question is that think about it heyman why don't you have another cup of coffee man listen if you're trying to help my brother maybe there's something i can do to help you you're looking for a couple of guys in a yellow toyota pickup truck right you bet your ass we are this is detective situation three you are investigating a crime but your conversation begins under circumstances so vague that your subject could become an informant or a witness or he could know nothing that would help you or he could become a suspect we have pretty good information that caused you to left here for some work this is when you must know your state's ruling on miranda warnings a few states require you to give warning as soon as you focus on the subject as a suspect most states however say there must be actual custody or the appearance of custody before miranda is required in any case if you fail to give miranda warnings when required any admission even a full confession will probably be inadmissible in court herbie daddy says you can tell us something about this toyota well like uh um i don't know much hey craphead tell them about the two guys look dad uh i i didn't tell you but i bought this car and and they said that they would send me the title and it was all legal are you crazy hey it's okay he's going to help us kirby i don't want to know how you got the car as a matter of fact i don't even want you to tell me anything about how you bought it but what i would like you to do is to cooperate with us tell us about the two guys that sold it to you you tell them you tell them the truth you understand it's okay he's going to help us he's going to help you that's what no one ever done rather than turn an interview into a formal interrogation at a critical moment you may sometimes want to skirt the less important issues heard me i'd like for you to let officer heyman and my partner look through the truck damn right all right now if you don't want us to just say so it's okay gary jerry take a look through the truck see if you find anything interesting but be careful uh perhaps danny's action in buying this vehicle was illegal the officer will attempt to avoid hearing any admissions in order to continue the interview informally otherwise at this point a murder case bogs down in formalities not yet knowing the full extent of the boy's participation the officers made it very clear that he is requesting permission to search the vehicle suppose evidence was uncovered it implicated the young man to the murder with three police officers present the detective knows a court might otherwise rule that the boy agreed out of coercion the officer has played it safe bingo mike look what i got hey look at this psychology today property of kenneth james mckenzie 385 northeast 29th street interesting interesting kenny sit over there and relax for a while are you hungry yeah the anglers will get you something in a minute well well they kept that to everything except the murder that will wash look at it this way that gun doesn't match so they got rid of the gun they killed him with they both claimed they didn't kill him they ran out heard something maybe uh a gunshot maybe a backflip then a hurry to get away the first time they knew that guy was dead is when they saw it on tv just supposed to tell him the truth well that leaves a partner mike no convictions but he's not lily white either the partners mike you have any witnesses yeah what they say not a damn thing why should i get hung up in some other dude's house no what if it was you that's the point man it ain't me no that's not the point the point is it could be you what if you were the one sitting in a county jail and i was down here talking with somebody that saw something and get you out of jail think of that man i'm gonna leave it like it is hey marcus the kids in here look up to you if you don't tell the truth what are they gonna think you're a businessman and member of the community see your community white man hey marcus you know me well enough when i work on these homicide cases color doesn't come into it why should i get involved i know the school got to go to court got to do this got to do that the whole happened hey marcus i know you saw something what'd you say come here hey i was standing right here when i saw them two dudes come out hey man they didn't kill nobody how do you know because they win that yoda when i heard the shots and i ain't the only one that seen it either there are three basic types of interview subjects cooperative reluctant and hostile if he is merely reluctant you must size him up decide what approach or what approaches will appeal to him your technique his salesmanship the hostile subject is the toughest and only your intuition can tell you if he will open up at all but there's one thing to remember as long as you can get him to talk to you about anything you've got a chance 364 days a year i'm dirty and i write dirt on the street i see a cop and i gotta walk the other way or else i'm in the car get cold i want to get running probably never find a cop when you need one hey that's pretty good you're different mr chapman i'm just a policeman doing my job no it's been a long time since everybody called me mister except something nurse she calls me mister he don't count no i used to be a bookkeeper now a machine machine sends me a check every month just enough to die on hey want something else yeah that's all right i couldn't eat it anyway bad key mr chapman let's get back to the day to shoot no i don't want nothing to do with that i'd like to help you out but no mr chapman something's hard on me i don't know what it is but for some reason you're not leveling what is it okay i think he'll kill me who you know australia mr chapman i've been a policeman for 10 years and investigated hundreds of homicides a lot of witnesses are saying the same thing that you're saying now listen to me in all that time i've never lost one witness i'll give you my word we feel there's any danger will protect you a long time since anybody called me mister through those two guys they was always at each other's throats i'd like to get a written statement would you come with me sure let's go go ahead and finish yourself first hostility it can be real or it can be fake a cover-up for lies there's no way for you to tell if you create anger in a hostile situation you usually get only the facts you already know if you can keep it friendly if you can keep your subject talking you create other possibilities the person may volunteer information he may trip himself up nervousness pulsing veins a refusal to look you in the eye you must learn the signs but people are different some have evasive mannerisms even when telling the truth others conceal their lies so well that the blink of an eye may be all you'll get man i never been near that street but what can i tell you well what is it kenny wait a minute will you you know the nice thing about the truth it sounds like the truth it has a nice ring to it kenny you're a college student and you're asking us to believe a story that just doesn't add up let's take it from the top kenny it is to your advantage to be nice even after your subject is in custody you may not buy your story but don't demean him whether interviewing or interrogating you are doing two jobs at once you are selling your subject on the advantages of telling the truth and you are evaluating what he says to determine if it is the truth keep it friendly get him talking the more relaxed he is the easier it will be for you to tell when he starts to get up tight when he starts to lie mr schreier this is lieutenant sanders the homicide division detectives clerk and green are on the way over to see you they want to ask you a few more questions about the robbery and they asked me to call you so that you could stand by they arrive maybe not more than 15 or 20 minutes right okay just a minute mr streier a warrant for your arrest mr let me have this briefcase put your hands on that window spread your feet apart 15 minutes huh that's right not too long ago the president's commission on law enforcement and justice wrote that quote field interrogation is an example of a technique which may or may not survive attack by the courts end quote the fact is that in the field interrogation as it has come to be known is practically useless anyway the field interview is a lot more productive you got it all [Music] partner not too nice a guy huh hey man i could tell you you wouldn't believe it i'd believe it i know this not this guy you don't he was something else the field interview is a good concept because it works when you come down to it it's just street sense 1629 you