Killer Interview Tips.com

CLIFTON K COETZEE says:

Being a Stan Walters devotee I was pleased to find yet another rivetting publication by the guru of kinesics. Stans writing is refreshing and makes for interesting reading. The content itself is on the button. Excellent reference material for those in the business of detecting deception. I integrated the techniques described by Stan Walters with Statement Analysis techniques and find that I am now far more successful at what I do.
Rating: 5 / 5

B. America says:

I’m up to page 200 and while I usually wait for the end of any book to write a review, I felt compelled to write one now.———–

I want to open this review by clearly stating that no person should ever agree to be interviewed by law enforcement, guilty or innocent. No lawyer worth his hourly should ever suggest that his client be interview by law enforcement unless he is granted full immunity. The Unites States unlike our European brother countries can legally use deception to get a confession. Police investigators are powerless within the court systems. There is no reason to speak with them directly. If something needs to be confessed, it should be between your attorney and the district attorney.————

I have law enforcement experience with the NYPD and have read most of the “lie detection” literature available. I’ve read the Eckman books, the Wiley Series books, and references to studies included and referred to in the Walters book which I found shortly after reading “Detecting Lies and Deceit : The Psychology of Lying and the Implications for Professional Practice” by Vrij. The Vrij book is a good read and you’ll be flipping pages to get a good understanding of tests results.————-

Let me first state from experience, that unfortunately, the NYPD uses the Lieberman approach of pop science, which the Walters book (Kinesic) accurately states, is not an effective tool. The Lieberman book titled “Never Be Lied to Again” is what appears to be on law enforcements guide on “how to” interview and interrogate. I’ve also witnessed interviewing where arrested persons were denied council for nearly 10 hours as multiple detectives hammered away at them while being cuffed to wooden chairs in a forced slumped position. Bathroom breaks are a privilege and only in trade if you gave them something incriminating. Under these circumstances, people will eventually break even if they did not commit the crime. When the documents were passed to the ADA, I was astonished to read that the perp had never requested a lawyer although I witnessed some of them near crying to speak to a lawyer. Interviewing tactics seem to vary and no formal rules exist. Direct accusation of suspects and a poorly played hand of poker is the method of questioning. Exactly what the above literature states NOT to do, is what appears to be commonplace. ———

This book is not a bad book, but is misleading. The author calls quotes of research papers and studies to support his claims. The part that really annoyed me is that I read these papers prior to reading this book and his claims of support are not in context with the results of research. Research has show that law enforcement at its best was only able to detect deceit at most 50% of the time. Actually, law enforcement scored lower because overall, the national average IQ of law enforcement was 106 while the standard college test subjects IQ was higher. Law enforcement was unable to fully utilize the information provided to them either because of skepticism or because of their impeded mental dynamics.———-

This book claims in some instances that the suspect is likely to not be truthful by observation of speech and motion, which include clustering. This assumption at best can be 50% accurate. Body language is subjective and is clearly and statistically analyzed in the Vrij book, which also refers to the same authors as Walters uses. An investigator should expect an adversarial encounter, fidgeting, grooming, and other signs of normal and stress induced activities. The author does make some good points about items that manifest themselves under stress. He also points out some conversation clues that a perp could literally hand to an experience investigator that can be followed up on.————-

Overall, this book can be used as a guide of what not to do as pointed out by the author. The author bases conclusions on lies based on stress related clustering of actions and discretion on observing these actions. The author clearly states that the interviewer should not have a bias toward the subject, but this is clearly not the case as the book progresses. The objective in this book is to get a confession although it states that a false confession is not the objective. True confession or false confession, most police departments just want the confession. Let the DA handle the specifics.———–

Why do American police have the highest confession rates? The simple fact that the person in the “hot seat” is a suspect resulting from an investigation. The subject is law enforcements most probable perpetrator. There is a high probability that this person is guilty. With the lax rules in questioning and because criminals as a whole are not usually intelligent, confessions are not that difficult to extract. Criminals that are more affluent know enough to request an attorney as soon as they are approached by law enforcement.————–

This book can help the pop science culture of police investigators realize their mistakes. The book will help the reader identify patterns of a subject. I would not take Walters word on “this subject is probably being deceptive” with actions pointed out in his book because most of his stressed and supposedly deceptive subjects were showing “normal” behavior under stress. His idea of changes in patterns is noteworthy. This book can also help perps derail interviews by tossing in false body language and slips to create an environment where the investigator is running in circles. This idea struck me as unique. What would happen if the interviewee were more polished on interviewing tactics then the interviewer? ————
Rating: 4 / 5

James Starkes says:

Principals of Kinesic Interview and Interrogation is a well written and well researched look into the physical and physcological traits of a deceptive person. As a criminal investigator with a large Department I have found it to be an invaluable resource. Stan Walters insights and experiences are related in understandable easy to read terms. An excellent book.
Rating: 5 / 5