Conclusion A cquiring and applying investigative interviewing skills can be both complex and challenging. It requires the use of enhanced communication skills and the ability to be open and compassionate, even in the most demanding of situations. Interviewers need to be able to plan, to apply structure and to show discipline throughout. They need to be able to reflect critically on their own performance and be willing to understand intricate psychological processes. Even when acquired, such skills can easily be lost or dulled if they are not valued, encouraged, promoted or quality assured by supervisory and senior officers. Nevertheless, as this guide demonstrates, significant improvements in interviewing techniques can be achieved by taking some simple but critical steps. It is open to all police officers to benefit from the vast amount of scientific research and skilled practitioner experience that has gone into informing this approach to successful criminal investigation. Police officers are pragmatists. In carrying out their policing responsibilities they want to know what works. This guide shows “what works” and provides police officers with a basic resource to make investigative interviewing work for them. Admittedly, it cannot by itself turn all officers into accomplished investigative interviewers. However, it provides a firm basis from which to enable police officers to bring tried and tested methods into their professional practice. This will not only increase police effectiveness in investigations but will also enable officers to deliver the human rights based policing that all citizens desire and deserve. Conclusion ► Page 29