or simply a compulsion to say something in answer to questions, even when the suspect does not know the correct answer to give. Interpreting behaviour through some stereotyped or clichéd formula is unreliable and to be avoided. Police officers must remain impartial and keep an open mind! Certainty of guilt It would be naive not to accept that there will be occasions when an individual is interviewed by the police under such circumstances that existing evidence and information already point to a strong likelihood of their guilt of having committed some criminal offence. This awareness does not undermine or require a dramatic change in the investigator’s approach to interviewing, as an open mind remains crucial to investigative interviewing. Knowledge of certain facts will shape your line of questioning but not the stages or process of the interview, nor should it close your mind to other possibilities and explanations. Moreover, throughout the interview you still need to build and maintain rapport with the suspect and most critically, you must continue to treat the suspect with respect and dignity. Police officers are bound to question all suspects with a presumption of their innocence. Only a judicial decision can determine otherwise. There have been many instances of the police believing in the guilt of a suspect and questioning only to prove that belief, instead of seeking to uncover the truth as to what really happened. This has led to the extortion of confessions from some suspects only to discover some time later, often through impartial forensic or physical evidence coming to light, that the suspect concerned was entirely innocent. Page 16 ► A brief introduction to investigative interviewing