Investigative Interview Techniques lines

Summary

  • Users practice investigative interview skills on a simulated suspect named Jennifer Lerner.
  • The training system is intended to help law enforcement, security, and intelligence community professionals to review, develop, and refine their interview and confession-solicitation skills.
  • Jennifer’s variable veracity, personalities, and motivations make the system highly engaging, leading to repeated practice.
  • Users receive ongoing feedback on their progress and also receive a post-interview score on their mastery of the learning objectives.
Jennifer Lerner

Scenario

  • Users assume the role of an investigator who is questioning Jennifer following the theft of three restricted documents, one of which is highly sensitive.
  • Jennifer is different in each conversation, based on a combination of veracity, personality, motivations, and mood.
  • Topics that the user can discuss include:
    • People she works with and her family
    • Her opinions related to how the crime was carried out and who may have done it
    • The good and bad aspects of her working environment
    • The timeline of her activities the day the files were taken
    • Rationalizations for taking the files
    • Accusations and reasons to confess
    • Obtain and verify a written confession

Learning Objectives

After achieving mastery through repeated conversations, the user will be able to:

  • Build rapport using a variety of techniques
  • Rapidly identify signs of deception as well as truthful behaviors
  • Use a series of diagnostic questions to assess veracity
  • Identify appropriate confession-solicitation themes
  • Apply various confession-solicitation techniques
  • Use proper post-confession techniques

Seat Time

  • Approximately two hours of e-learning material that includes:
    • General interview tips and tactics, signs of deception to watch for, and suggested interview procedure
  • While much can be gained in 4 - 8 hours, most users will want to use the system for 16 - 40 hours and achieve mastery of all the learning objectives
  • Simulated conversations last 30 - 70 minutes.

The estimate seat time does not account for longer-term "refresher" sessions, which will vary by user.



Jennifer Lerner Demonstration

Selected scenes of a user successful interviewing a guilty version of Jennifer Lerner.

Jennifer Lerner is played by Marni Penning.

"...never have I used the word 'break-through' to describe our programs.  I use this word now."

-Dr. Victor Marrow
Executive Director
Office of Funded Programs/CME
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine