Page 200 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

Planning Tough Interviews 201

The lesson is not to make a big deal of the interview or meeting but to let the suspect form
his own conclusion that, if he attends, he has a chance of winning or at least coming out no
worse than he went in. Ideally you should give minimal advance warning or, better still, am-
bush him when his pants are down (see page [xref]).

FALSE ARREST ‘I tried out the tests you suggested and
picked up £70,000 worth of false invoices.
A participant in a seminar on corporate I interviewed the head of purchasing and
fraud listened intently as the elderly speaker he has confessed. I have locked him in the
listed the ways in which false purchase lavatory but I am not sure what to do next.’
invoices could be detected. A day or so
later, he telephoned the speaker and said:

The moral of this story is that although you should try and take the suspect by surprise you
should not arrest him, unless it is vital to do so and permitted under the law. Arrest means
detaining someone against their will, usually with the objective of bringing them before a
court. In the UK this is an important power, available to all citizens, especially if a person is
caught while trying to remove or destroy evidence. All that is necessary is to tell the person
he is being arrested and to take him to a police station or call for police assistance as soon as
possible. Reasonable force can be used to prevent the suspect from escaping (see Section 3 of
the Criminal Law Act 1967), but great care must be taken in all cases, especially when he is
bigger than you, or is with his mother or dog.

You may invite a person to attend an interview, but you should not arrest him.
Let the liar think he can win

If the interview can be arranged when the suspect is doing something he should not be
doing, so much the better. For example, if an employee who is suspected of stealing can be
caught loading company property into the boot of his car, the initiative swings quickly in
your favour.

It is very difficult for a liar to maintain his composure when caught with his pants down

Phase A: The opening statement
The way you open an interview is critically important. First impressions count and you must
present an adult and professional image. In most cases you should explain, through some sort
of introductory monologue (see page [xref]), selecting the best option: