The silent suspect You must expect a variety of behaviours from suspects, from compliance to non-co-operation, from being overly friendly to being abusive and even aggressive. In the context of interviewing, it can be extremely frustrating for police officers to be confronted by a suspect who says nothing. The suspect may close their eyes, stare at a fixed point or even try to turn their chair or body away from you and thereby avoid eye contact altogether. In these circumstances you should continue to question the suspect. Your questions should be relevant but should not be repetitive to the point where your questioning becomes oppressive. Remember that the suspect’s silence has no bearing on determining guilt or innocence and must not affect your presumption of innocence. It is merely the suspect choosing to exercise a right. A suspect cannot be compelled to testify against themselves or to confess guilt. Do not let silent behaviour frustrate you or cause you to deviate from your professional standards. Do not shout, use offensive or disrespectful language or become angry. You must accept that there will be times when, no matter what skills you have and no matter what strategies you employ, a suspect will choose to remain silent. This is not a reflection on your ability or effectiveness as a police officer. A suspect may give short or abrupt replies such as “no idea”, “no comment” or “don’t know”. This can also be frustrating as it gives no indication as to whether or not they will reply to all your future questions in the same manner, although this may quickly become apparent. You should remind the suspect of the offences that they are suspected of having committed and that this is their opportunity to give their account of issues and facts in their own words. Give the suspect time to think about the question. Even if they do not reply or reply abruptly, give some pause for further reflection on their part and do not immediately ask another question. Remind the suspect that while they may choose to remain silent in response to some of your questions, there may be other questions that you will put to them during the interview which they will wish to answer and therefore they should listen to them all and reflect on the opportunity to reply being offered to them. You can try to stimulate a response by referring to evidence already in your possession. This may point to the suspect’s guilt and make them respond to your invitation to explain the evidence in their own words. Even if the suspect has remained silent throughout your questioning always Professional interviewing ► Page 19