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He is a member of the force's major crime department and has worked
on cases including the murders of Andrew Scanlan in 2006 and
Chitradevi Chandran in 2008 and the murders of Jasmine and Davina
Baker by their mother Rekha Kumari-Baker.
DC Brown, who is based at Thorpe
Wood Police Station, said the aim of interviewing was not
necessarily to get a confession. It is about establishing the facts
and finding out the suspect's involvement, if any, in the crime
under investigation.
He said: "We are not allowed to tell
someone a deliberate lie or trick them into making a confession.
However, if people are not telling the truth, it is likely that we
will find out.
"There is also nothing wrong with
trying to persuade them to come clean, but it's not about whether
they admit the offence. If I person has lied, it is likely that they
will be discredited and that may convince a jury of their guilt."
DC Brown said when he started his
police career in the Huntingdon area 29 years ago, a high-ranking
officer such as a detective superintendent would have interviewed a
murder suspect.
Today, a specially-trained detective
will conduct the interview and devise their own strategy but base it
on a recognised structure learnt in training. Interviews are also
far more thorough than they used to be.
The first interviewing stage is to
state the crime and ask the suspect for an account of what they were
doing at the time in question.
The suspect may say "no comment",
which could mean the person has something to hide, but this is not
always the case.
DC Brown said a suspect in a recent
case had offered no responses, leading him and other detectives to
believe he may be responsible. However, DNA tests later showed he
was not the offender and the man had only offered no comment on
advice from his solicitor.
Suspects that do talk are allowed to
complete their first account without challenge, even if they are
telling what appear to be blatant lies.
This allows detectives to
investigate further and either prove or disprove an alibi or any
other detail in the account.
It means interviews can go on for
days and, although a prisoner can only be held for an initial 24
hours, this can be extended to a maximum of 96 hours through court
extensions.
Officers interview suspects in
pairs, one conducting the face-to-face interview and the other
taking notes and making sure their partner does not miss any key
questions or issues.
After the first account, the
interviewers will take the suspect back through key elements of the
story but in "fine grain detail". The best interviewers will be
extremely thorough and leave no stone unturned.
It depends on the nature of the
crime but questioning is often broken down into areas such as the
time frame, clothing, weapons and associates, to give the interview
structure.
DC Brown said: "In interviews we ask
them to take us through things in fine detail. We might ask about
the time they arrived at a said location, who they talked to, what
was discussed, what they had to drink.
"If the person is lying they can't
build a story around it because they know we can talk to the people
they mention and discredit them."
Time and time again specialist
interviewers are being used successfully in the investigation of the
most serious crimes.
It is often in people's best
interests to tell the truth, even if they are being advised to make
"no comment". The court can take an adverse view of a defendant who
fails to give an explanation and the jury can be asked to take that
into account when making their decision.
DC Brown's challenge is to get to
the truth, whether that means proving or disproving an account given
in interview. Ultimately, his skills could mean the difference
between a guilty or not guilty plea from a suspect, or a guilty or
not guilty verdict from a jury.
October 2009 -
Peterborough UK Community Website
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