Interrogation Techniques - By: cedricrice

The first thing that an interrogator must be is alert. The successful interrogator has to watch the actions of the person that he interrogates. They must observe the nonverbal signals which are given by the person being questioned. These actions speak louder than any words ever can speak.

The interrogator must be clever and maintain control of the questioning throughout the session. He has to be the one asking questions and probing the mind of the person being questioned. He needs to appear neutral at the same time in the sense that he doesn’t reveal anything about himself while he is conducting the interview. He has to be careful what he wears in terms of clothing and jewelry. A smart subject will be able to manipulate the situation if he knows that there is a button that he can push.

A good interrogator will not react to emotional outbursts or any other actions of the subject. Any emotional reaction or action is timed to take advantage of the situation. The person being interviewed can manipulate the situation if he senses a certain predisposition on the part of the interrogator. Smart criminals, terrorists, or spies are knowledgeable about human nature and interrogation tactics. They know how the game is played and exactly how far interrogators can go. They will use the session to gain knowledge about what the interrogator knows and use it accordingly.

Some different interrogation techniques used by interrogators are explained below. The techniques being used range from deception, increasing suggestibility to even torture in few cases.

Increasing Suggestibility: The tendency of a person to listen to suggestions of others and act accordingly is their suggestibility. There are different ways to increase the suggestibility of the person being interrogated. Exposure to white noise, sleep deprivation and the use of drugs like sodium thiopental and sodium amytal are few of the techniques.

The essence of this technique is that it softens the force of the action of a criminal or eases the feelings of the subject in regards to giving information. It is especially good in criminal cases especially when the interrogator knows the truth and can lead the session down the path that he needs for it to go.

Deception: The technique of deception is used by the interrogators (police) to obtain important information. An interrogator is allowed to lie during interrogation. The deception technique might involve the making of false allegations.

Reid Technique: This interrogation technique is divided into three parts i.e. analyzing the facts, interviewing the subject and finally questioning him/her. If the factual information reveals that the person being interrogated is guilty, attempts are made to persuade him in confess.

Torture: It is one of the oldest interrogation techniques known to mankind. In this technique, the person in question is subjected to physical pain or discomfort. The torture technique can result into three possible outcomes. The first condition is one in which innocent people are tortured. They may either make false confessions to avoid the physical pain or let the torture to continue. Hardened criminals may resort to misleading the interrogators by giving false information and thereby rescuing themselves from torture. The third possible outcome can be that of a culprit succumbing to torture and finally revealing the truth.

Good Cop/Bad Cop: It is a technique which involves interrogating by means of joint questioning. The suspect is interviewed and questioned by a pair of interrogators, one of whom makes allegations in an aggressive manner. Other interrogator plays the role of a sympathetic person who is kind to the subject. The technique is said to develop trust in the subject's mind towards the good cop. The subject may disclose the truth/correct information to the good cop.

Pride-and-ego Down: In the pride-and-ego down technique, the sense of personal worth of subjects is attacked by interrogators. This technique works if the subject makes an attempt to win back his self-respect and in the process, reveals the truth.

CIA's Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

The enhanced interrogation methods were used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US military intelligence soon after the infamous September 11 (9/11) attacks on World Trade Center in New York. The Attention Grab, Attention Slap and Belly Slap are few of the enhanced interrogation techniques. Waterboarding, Cold Cell and Long Time Standing were the torture methods.

The smart interrogator may be exceptionally proficient in one or more of these techniques. He or she may just have to analyze the situation and decide which is the best technique to use. Military Ring Express

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