starting point.44 This training tool has been written by leading experts for practitioners, developed to assist States to educate and inform officials on good practices in implementing the UN Convention against Torture, and to raise awareness of the general public so they understand and can exercise their rights under the Convention. Article 11 of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) requires States to keep their interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices under systematic review. When was the last time your country carried out a systematic review? 57. With the power of the scientific argument, agents of change should argue that following these procedural steps (as outlined in the CTI tool) will stimulate the necessary change of mindset. As pointed out by Méndez in his interim report to the UN General Assembly: “As a matter of best practice, interviewers are encouraged to proceed, when necessary, with probing questions designed to elicit information that will test all possible alternative explanations identified during the preparation of the interview. Strategic probing and disclosure of potential evidence allows officers to explore the interviewee’s account in depth before proceeding to the next topic, helping to ensure that the presumption of innocence is respected while strengthening the case against a guilty suspect by preventing the subsequent fabrication of an alibi”. 45 58. The alternative hypotheses that the police must test in their investigation are the same hypotheses (alternative scenarios/explanations) that the prosecution and eventually the court must consider (ensure that they are tested) before the evidential threshold “proven beyond reasonable doubt” can be reached. The evidential value of information at hand is strengthened through strategic thinking without coercion. 59. This procedure stimulates open-mindedness and ultimately the application in practice of the presumption of innocence. It requires strategic thinking and flexibility, characteristics detectives and intelligence officers usually find attractive, as they are inducing a sense of pride in their own detective/intelligence work. Research and experience from the field show that police officers embrace the “new tool” because they find it applicable and effective.46 From European to universal standard 60. Already in 2002, the CPT captured the essence of investigative interviewing:47 “First and foremost, the precise aim of such questioning must be made crystal clear: that aim should be to obtain accurate and reliable information in order to discover the truth about matters under investigation, not to obtain a confession from someone already presumed, in the eyes of the interviewing officers, to be guilty.” 61. Fifteen years of research on investigative interviewing has passed since the CPT formulated its standard. Moreover, fifteen years of experience from the field - training, Convention Against Torture Initiative (CTI) training tool 1/2017, “Investigative interviewing for criminal cases”, attached to this document and available at http://cti2024.org/content/docs/CTI-Training_Tool_1Final.pdf. 45 United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, interim report, fn. 13, para. 54. 46 Andy Griffiths and Asbjørn Rachlew, ‘From Interrogation to Investigative Interviewing’, fn. 41; Ivar Fahsing, and Asbjørn Rachlew, ‘Investigative interviewing – The Nordic region’, in Tom Williamson et al. (eds.), International Developments in Investigative Interviewing, Willan Publishing, 2009, pp. 39–65. 47 CPT, 12th General Report, fn. 10. 44 17