Fundamentals Of Investigative Interviewing

How to Gather Information from (Almost) Anyone

What you'll learn

Learn how to question people effectively

Understand how to build rapport with interviewees

Learn how to plan effectively for interviews

Understand how to gather and challenge an interviewee's account

Requirements

No previous experience needed, although some investigative experience would be an asset

Description

Throughout the course Dr. Eastwood presents evidence-based concepts related to effective interviewing that are rooted in psychological science. This includes topics such as: core attributes of every successful interviewer, how to plan for an interview, creating an atmosphere that will ensure that the interviewee will want to talk, systematic questioning processes for both cooperative and uncooperative interviewees, how to close an interview in a professional manner, and evaluating performance once the interview is completed.Along with the theoretical concepts, Detective Mitton discusses a variety of applications, illustrations, and personal anecdotes from his 30 years of experience in conducting high-level interviews within a law enforcement context. As with all of our content, this combination of science and experience ensures the content is both research-based and practically relevant.The course consists of six sections: Introduction, Planning, Opening, Account – Cooperative, Account – Uncooperative, and Closing & Evaluation. Each section consists of a brief course overview, a video lecture, accompanying ppt slides, the corresponding chapter from our written Interviewing Manual, supplementary videos illustrating the section content, and a short multiple-choice question quiz.This course was designed for investigators of all types, including law enforcement, HR professionals, social workers, loss prevention, medical staff, and beyond. While the examples used often include cases of a criminal nature, the concepts covered in the course can be applied to any questioning context.The goal of the course is to make trainees more skilled and efficient at extracting information from other people, and so anyone whose job involves talking to, and gathering information from, someone else will benefit from this course. The course is designed primarily for building a solid evidence-based foundation of core interviewing concepts, and so any investigator looking to create or supplement their knowledge and skills in this area will find this course particularly helpful.

Overview

Section 1: Section 1 - Introduction

Lecture 1 Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 2 Section 1: Illustrative Example

Section 2: Section 2 - Planning

Lecture 3 Section 2: Pre-Interview Planning

Lecture 4 Section 2: Illustrative Example

Section 3: Section 3 - Opening

Lecture 5 Section 3 - Opening Phase

Lecture 6 Section 3: Illustrative Example

Section 4: Section 4 - Account (Cooperative)

Lecture 7 Section 4 - Account (Cooperative)

Lecture 8 Section 4: Illustrative Example

Section 5: Section 5 - Account (Uncooperative)

Lecture 9 Section 5 - Account (Uncooperative)

Lecture 10 Section 5: Illustrative Example

Section 6: Section 6 - Closure & Evaluation

Lecture 11 Section 6 - Closure & Evaluation

Lecture 12 Section 6: Illustrative Example

Investigators of all types wanting to improve their interviewing skills. This includes law enforcement, HR professionals, lawyers, social workers, and more.