Ever get the feeling someone has been lying to you? A session atthe recent International Association of Special Investigation Unitsentitled, “The Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation,”was a good place to be to help get your suspicions confirmed. Theworkshop had one objective: Teach the techniques and tricks ofeliciting information from suspects that result in admissibleconfessions.

The Reid Process, as explained by the company's president,Joseph P. Buckley, involves three major points:

Behavior Symptom Analysis – The verbal and non-verbal behavioralcharacteristics that distinguish a truthful person from one who iswithholding or fabricating relevant information.

The Behavior Analysis Interview – The structure for theinterview that is designed to elicit both factual and behavioralinformation so as to suggest investigative direction.

The Reid Nine Steps of Interrogation – The interrogation processthat is designed to obtain an admission of guilt.

Given that the seminar typically is held over the course ofthree days, Buckley focused on the most important topic forinvestigators. “In an insurance investigation, you are looking atwhether or not the [suspect] is credible.”

Though he cautioned that no behavior is always consistent withtelling the truth or lying, there are a lot of commoncharacteristics that can guide your instincts in the rightdirection, especially when multiple characteristics appear.

His technique in interviewing suspects included two steps. Thefirst involved having a non-accusatory, information-gatheringconversation. Generally, this is done in a question-and-answerformat. By using the 80/20 rule–where the investigator speaks 20percent of the time and the subject 80 percent–the investigatorallows the person to tell his story by utilizing both investigativeand behavior-provoking questions.

“Silence is your ally in an interview,” said Buckley. “It givesthe subject the chance to keep on talking, and guilty people willusually add information, thinking, 'Did that sound right?'”

Video demonstrations featuring real investigators interviewingtheir subjects highlighted the session and demonstrated the goalsof an interview, which is to develop investigative and behavioralinformation. One case showed Sharon, a single mother and a newemployee on the job for just over a month, being questioned by aninvestigator using the techniques Buckley described. Assigned towork a drive-up window at a bank, Sharon states that she placed$1,500 in a drawer for her supervisor to deposit, but somehow, themoney disappears a short time later.

By watching the investigator implement behavior-provokingquestions, attendees saw first hand the lessons Buckley taught,discussed their own observations, and then offered a verdict basedon those observations. Together with the interrogative nature ofthe investigator and Sharon's verbal and non-verbal responses, afull confession was elicited from her.

“The number one reason a person confesses is that they say theinvestigator seemed to understand their situation,” said Buckley.“This can be achieved by telling a personal story even worse thantheirs to better relate to them and build sympathy.”

For more information about the Reid Process, go tohttp://www.reid.com.