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Cognitive Interviewing

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Information is the lifeblood of investigations and it is the ability of investigators to obtain useful and accurate information from eyewitnesses that is most crucial. Yet full and accurate memory recall is difficult to achieve. 

This course will familiarize investigators with the Cognitive Interview (CI) technique. The CI is a systematic approach to interviewing cooperative witnesses toward increasing the amount of relevant information obtained without compromising the rate of accuracy. The CI is based on scientifically derived principles of memory and communication theory as well as extensive analyses of law-enforcement interviews. The CI has been found in scientific studies to produce significantly more information than standard police questioning. The CI is legally acceptable to the courts. 

Attendees will learn about the nature of memory retrieval and how to conduct investigative interviews more effectively while avoiding the worst mistakes. In addition to the basic CI protocol, specialized techniques for use with unique populations will be presented based on research funded by the National Institute of Justice. The unique populations include:  anxious or traumatized persons, amnesic persons, mentally challenged persons, and children.

This course also includes a half-day segment on techniques for detecting deception during consensual conversations with subjects who have raised suspicion. The methods taught include a reliance on the more reliable verbal, vocal, and behavioral indicators of deception. These techniques are based on research conducted at UCLA by Dr. Geiselman as well as the existing research literature.

Who Should Attend

Qualified applicants must be full-time, sworn law enforcement peace officers.

Eligibility

This program is being funded by the FLETC’s Rural Policing Institute. Preference for admission into this program is given to non-federal law enforcement officers or other emergency responders working in rural areas. “Rural” is defined as any area outside of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as defined by the Office of Management and Budget; or any jurisdiction inside of a MSA located in a county, borough, parish or land under the jurisdiction of an Indian Tribe with a population of no more than 50,000.  Please visit Eligibility Requirements for more information. Non-rural applicants may be admitted on a space-available basis approximately 35 days prior to the program’s start date.

Cost

TUITION-FREE -- Attendees are responsible for all travel, lodging and meal expenses.

Registration Information

(1) Go to https://registration.fletc.gov to create an account or login to an existing account; (2) Once logged in select “view/register for courses” under Basic User Functions at the left of the page; (3) select desired course and location and click on “search”; and (4) course options will populate below the box and then select “apply” to register for desired course.

If you need to contact us for additional information: E-mail us at FLETC-RuralPolicingInstitute@dhs.gov or call 800-743-5382.

Training Dates

There are currently no training dates or other items within this program.