Page 281 - Deception at work all chapters EBook

282 Deception at Work

wish, bravado etc., but the most dangerous and unfair is where a false confession is made sim-
ply to bring a fear-ridden interview to a close. Thus you should make every effort to confirm
every aspect of the confession by:

• trying to identify and recover documentary and other corroborative evidence;
• trying to confirm information known only to the perpetrator;
• establishing how the suspect felt at the time the offences were committed and his motiva-

tion;
• any other detail that supports the confession.

If you have even the remotest suspicion that the confession is untrue, you must discuss this
in depth with the suspect. This is a very rare and difficult position and you must balance the
possibility of encouraging a guilty suspect to withdraw a true confession with the interests of
justice. Any doubt should be in favour of the suspect.

HELPING THE SUSPECT

In this phase it is not unusual for the suspect to ask what might happen to him. This is a very
serious and important question which you must answer truthfully. You should list the options
and (hopefully, you may genuinely feel this way) say something along the lines of:

Example : ‘I don’t know what will happen. We both know this is a serious matter, but I can
see why and how it happened. It is difficult to see how facing up to your responsibilities can
make matters worse and you have been brave enough to do this. I am quite prepared to state
on your behalf that you have been frank with me and have genuinely tried to minimize the
company’s losses, but I need to know x.’

You should continue with any outstanding matters and, in due course, bring the interview
to a natural close. You must stick to your word.

AGREE THE SIZE OF THE PROBLEM

In general and very low-key conversation, ask the suspect to:

• agree to when the offences started;
• agree to the average frequency of the fraud;
• agree to where the fraud started;
• agree to the average amount stolen each time.

You should also try to establish detail that only the guilty person would know.

LETTER OF APOLOGY

Consider asking the suspect if he would like to write a letter of apology to his manager. This
makes withdrawal of the confession less likely.