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STREET STORIES
The World of Police Detectives
Robert Jackall
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"Detective Gennaro Giorgio, dressed to the nines and with his customary aplomb, testified about his cat-and-mouse interviews and conversations with Herman Myers. Giorgio’s rules for interrogation are simple and straightforward:"


 
  • Know the case from beginning to end, down to the smallest
detail. Specific knowledge is the key to successful interrogation.
  • Listen patiently to suspects. Never confront them in an accusatory way.
  • At first, write nothing, taking in everything a suspect says without challenge. Then go back over the suspect’s statement, writing it out carefully.
  • Read it back to the suspect and have him sign it. Lock suspects into their statements, whether true or false.
  • Then key in on inconsistencies in the statements or on aspects of the statements one knows independently to be false.

  • Make careful notes of casual conversations with suspects. Sometimes suspects blurt out damning statements spontaneously
at off-guard moments.
  • Observe the suspect’s demeanor carefully during the interview,
especially when he is telling known lies. Make a mental note of any behavioral patterns that regularly accompany the known lies, such as facial tics, hand rubbing, head touching, turning away, licking lips, or displays of anger.
  • Point out the lies without, at first, letting the suspect know how one knows he is lying. Ask the suspect why he is lying.

  • Then point out some piece of actual evidence that contradicts his story. Insistently but quietly demand an explanation for the discrepancy. If none is forthcoming, move on to the next discrepancy.
  • If one has no tangible evidence on hand, use dodges, ruses, or tricks to elicit statements from suspects.
  • At a certain point, offer the suspect an out—a plausible explanation, justification, or excuse for his depredation, suppressing all personal moral revulsion and clearly indicating that one understands and indeed empathizes with such a motive or account.
  • In short, let suspects convict themselves with their own words. Denials of guilt are as useful legally as admissions or confessions if one has independent evidence to undermine the denials and thus the suspect’s credibility before a jury.