Page 212 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

Planning Tough Interviews 213

WHEN IS A CONFESSION NOT A CONFESSION?

The interview was going badly and the interpreter did not seem interested. The interviewer
suggested that they should take a break and he walked out of the room leaving the
interpreter and the suspect together. Unbeknown to either of them, the interview had been,
and was still being, taped.

The interviewer returned to the room and terminated the interview. A few days later when
the tape was transcribed, part of the conversation between the interpreter and the suspect
during the break read:

Suspect : I thought I was in trouble there for a moment.
Interpreter : Trust me, the man’s a fool. Keep calm.
Suspect : How much longer will it be?
Interpreter : Not long. He is giving up. He is a cretin: don’t worry, my friend.

It transpired that the suspect and the interpreter were first cousins who often went clubbing
together. The real insult was that the off-record conversation was in English, a language the
suspect said he could not understand.

During the interview:

• the interpreter should sit alongside you;
• you should address questions to the suspect and monitor his reaction – especially noting if he

appears to understand the question before it has been translated;
• you should look at the suspect while the interpreter is speaking and while he is giving his

response: do not look at the interpreter.

The interpreter can make or break an interview and it is vital that he is coached so that he can
become actively involved.

INTERVIEWS IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SUSPECT’S LAWYER

The UK Law Society published a paper in 19989 setting out the approach it recommends law-
yers should take when their clients are being investigated and interviewed. It is not necessary
to go into the gory detail, but sufficient to say that the recommended actions appear to be
based on a Compulsive Interference Disorder (CID) and the assumption that their clients are
always innocent.

The main problem is that the charisma of the suspect’s lawyer will disturb transactional
relationships and unless you take care, he will capture the role of the ultimate critical parent,
forcing you into the role of an adaptive child. This is very bad news.

The recommended approach is to:

9 Active Defence: Lawyer’s Guide to Police and Defence Investigation and Prosecution and Defence Disclosure in Criminal
Cases, Eric Shepherd and Roger Ede, ISBN 18532 681 8