Interviews: Obtaining Information from Witnesses

This chapter discusses the guiding principles and techniques of interviewing. Interviewing applies to victims or eyewitnesses who can reasonably be expected to disclose what they know. An important aspect of the interview is observation of the facial expressions of the interviewee. The victim or eyewitness can make a major contribution by providing a good description of the perpetrator. The Behavioral Analysis Interview (BAI) is an investigative technique that seeks to capitalize on the fact that a person being questioned unwittingly emits nonverbal signals. It is an effective substitute when the polygraph is not available or acceptable for use. So far, it has been of greatest help in private security work and for screening numbers of suspects when polygraph tests would be too time-consuming. Another measure, the cognitive interview has substantial promise as a technique for the enhancement of eyewitness memory retrieval. It produces significantly more correct information without an accompanying increase in the amount of incorrect information.