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Conducting Tough Interviews 247

• who you are and what you do;
• what the suspicions are;
• how the investigation has been and will be conducted;
• confirmation that the organization has limitless time and resources and intends to find the

truth;
• your wish to give the suspect the chance to explain.

For example, the opening – with a purchasing agent who may have taken bribes – may be
along the following lines:

UNCERTAIN GUILT AND EVIDENCE

‘I am Roger Jones from HR and I am ‘Vendors know that we can take civil action
investigating very serious allegations of to force them to produce their records or
corruption involving a number of vendors. get the police involved. They also know that
The company takes this very seriously and someone will always talk to save their own
will make every effort to find the truth. skin.’ [Pause] ‘The facts always come out.
Investigations like this take time but I am sure
you agree that bribery is a very big problem …’ ‘We have got a lot of evidence already
[pause and note reaction] ‘… and it is usually which we need to discuss. [To be fair with
the purchasing agent that takes all of the everyone involved and allow you to give
blame as vendors run for cover and to protect your side of events, I have to tell you that
their other businesses say that they were you do not have to say anything unless you
forced into paying and had no alternative. In wish to do so and that anything you do say
my experience, this is seldom the case, but may be used in evidence.] I am particularly
that’s the way it always seems to go. interested in AB Jones and Company
Limited, what can you tell me about them?’

From this opening you can move into Phase B and ask more probing questions, if necessary
increasing anxiety through Phase C until the suspect reaches the pivotal point. Alternatively, you
may decide that the suspect is truthful and can be removed from suspicion. If this happens, don’t
end the interview too quickly, but try to encourage the subject as a witness or informant.

OPTION 2: BLOCKING QUESTIONS

You may choose this opening when you have good reason to believe the suspect is responsible,
but that he may be able to produce a plausible excuse. The object is to give him the chance to
volunteer potentially incriminating information and, if he fails to do so, to block a plausible but
deceptive excuse later on. For example, in a price-fixing case the opening might be as follows: