A/71/298 innocence operational. Officers generate and actively test alternative hypotheses through systematic preparation, empathetic rapport-building, open-ended questions, active listening, strategic probing and disclosure of potential evidence. Such interviews are far more effective and compliant with human rights. 50. Objectivity, impartiality and fairness are critical components of investigative interviews. They require officers to keep an open mind, even when the evidence against a person is strong. An objective, impartial and fair interviewing process will reduce the risks of resorting to confession-oriented techniques or coercion and of eliciting false admissions or faulty intelligence. In criminal investigations, a fair police process will form the preparatory basis for a fair trial. 14 Officers must remain professional and not allow their prejudices, preco nceptions or emotions to affect their performance during interviews. 51. Systematic and solid preparation increases the quality and likelihood of successful interviews. Conversely, insufficient preparation is bound to cause setbacks and creates risks that agents will resort to pressure or physical coercion to elicit information or confessions. Adequate preparation requires full knowledge of and compliance with applicable rules of procedure governing the conduct of interviews. To conduct the most effective interview possible, officers should, among other things, have clear knowledge and understanding of all information pertinent to the case, be fully cognizant of the legal definition of the offence under investigation and identify all potential evidence in the case file and every possible explanation of its origin. 15 The preparation of a strategy and interview structure designed to best elicit information is also essential, as is the ability to remain flexible throughout the interview. 52. The development and maintenance of rapport is also a crucial determinant of effective non-coercive interviews. Rapport can help to reduce the interviewee ’s anxiety, anger or distress, while increasing the likelihood of obtaining more complete and reliable information. Rapport-building techniques must not be used for the purposes of manipulation or to exert undue pressure to induce confessions, which would be incompatible with the purpose and spirit of the investigative interviewing model. The protocol should clearly set out the duty of interviewers to maintain a professional attitude and refrain from using any form of coercion during the entire interview process. It must also emphasize that interviewers ought to obtain the cooperation of persons questioned, rather than to demons trate their authority or gain control over them, manipulate them or force them to comply with their wishes. 53. It is recommended that interviewers begin each topic by asking open -ended questions and allow the interviewee to provide a free and uninterrupte d account of the events under investigation. Contrary to complex, leading or compound questions, open-ended and neutral questions encourage memory retrieval and are less likely to induce admissions against a person’s will, influence his or her account or contaminate his or her memory. Broad and open-ended questions will enable innocent suspects to provide information freely, while preventing guilty suspects from understanding their evidentiary significance. __________________ 14 15 14/25 See the European Code of Police Ethics. For example, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Human Rights in Counter-Terrorism Investigations: A Practical Manual for Law Enforcement Officers (Warsaw, 2013). 16-13568