4 Police Interviewing Mistakes

As a law enforcement officer, in particular, at the borders, you have to deal with a lot of dishonest people trying to do something illegal. If you’re like me, you have probably gotten so frustrated all of their lying that you probably wanted to slam them against the wall and yell “stop lying and tell me the truth!” Before you do that, which we don't recommend, ensure you are not committing 4 murderous mistakes in interviewing!

Common Mistake No. 1

Not looking at the person directly. Most inexperience or newer officers/agents show their lack of skills by this one mistake. The face is one of the most important area of a person the interviewer has to analyze. Here is the vast amount of clues from Micro Expressions (subject we will cover in future post), nervous ticks, eye-movement, voice, etc.

How To Fix It 

Focus on your interviewee's face. Once you have signal the person they need to answer your question, don't get distracted by looking at identification documents, cellphones to show information. These first few seconds of the interview are vital to establish rapport and baseline which demonstrate great abilities. More on this point on Mistake Number 4.

Common Mistake No. 2

"Are you coming for vacation or work?"

"Will you be staying in a hotel or with friends?"

"Are you driving or flying there?"

You know you did this. The problem here is that you are putting the answers in your questions making it easy on them, also called "leading." Thus, whatever that person replies your mind will recognize it as correct since you thought about it first.

How to Fix It

Use Open-Ended questions, such as: 

"What are you coming to do?"

"Where will you be staying?"

"How will you get to your final destination?"

You know them, but you don’t use them. Open-Ended questions demand from your interviewee a lot of information. Therefore fabricating instantaneous lies will create enormous stress, displayed as verbal or non-verbal nervousness, making it easier for you to detect omission or deceit. Caution: Don’t accept one-word answers, such as vacation, verbally ask for more details.

Common Mistake No. 3

"I’m NOT going to find any drugs in your bags?"

"You are NOT coming to work illegally in the U.S.?"

"You DON’T have anything to declare?"

Has negative ever given you anything positive? Think about a negative attitude or a negative bank account. Yet time and time again, I hear officers asking people questions in the negative making it easy for people to respond with a simple “no.”

How to Fix It

Speak in the positive, in anything you do for that matter make it in the positive. In this case, ask in the positive:

"What illegal drugs am I GOING TO FIND in your bags?"

"WILL YOU BE working here illegally?"

"What items DO YOU HAVE to declare?"

This way you are sending a signal to that person's brain in the form of a question saying you know he/she has something, so might as well tell you. These types of questions work well with the next point.

Common Mistake No. 4

"IF I check your luggage, what am I going to find?

"I THINK you have drugs, where is it? "

IF and I THINK shows there is NO certainty, which comes from lacking confidence on what you will do or can do. I’ve seen very muscular, male officers with full gear and body armor get intimidated by a 5’4” 115 pounds female with simply her looks, because she had more confidence.

How to Fix It

First eliminate IF, MAYBE, I THINK, PROBABLY or any word from your questions that does not show “certainty." Second, work on your delivery meaning tone of voice, pitch and definitely eye contact. Third, practice, practice and then practice some more asking the right question with the right delivery. Eventually, you will create great confidence in yourself that will allow you to pierce through anyone’s defenses. Use these types of questions that show certainty/confidence: 

"I AM GOING to check your luggage, what illegal items am going to find?"

"I KNOW you have drugs, where is it?"

There you have it. You are on your way to becoming a better interviewer by correcting these 4 common interview mistakes.

Don’t forget to share this with your coworkers and remember just like the proper question can pierce through any defense, only the proper, industry-specific Tactical Seeker Knife can help you cut and probe for hidden narcotics. Get yours at our Shop!