PI's: Work after the Interviews

There's nothing more rewarding than conducting an interview of a suspect and getting a confession, or completing an eye witness interview that clearly identifies the suspect. But wait, your work is not done. 

Even when an interview is completed, the information you are searching for has been obtained, you must verify the information to ensure it is factual, then document it in the report for your client. 

Why is it important to verify the facts when you get a confession or eye witness accounts? Because the suspect may change their story, or if court is in the future, they simply plea the fifth amendment and do not testify. Witnesses disappear, they move away or over time their memory recall becomes fuzzy. Also, a defense attorney may seek to poke holes in the information you gained through interviews by pointing out you did not verify information leaving doubt in the mind of the judge or jury. 

Following is a simple checklist to verify information from a confession or eye witness statements: 

• Identify timelines - Was the suspect at the location when they committed the crime? Was the eye witness accounted for at the scene? Were there others that saw them immediately prior or at the time. Creating a timeline that shows the movement of the suspect, and locations of the witnesses is one method for verifying information collected during an interview. 
• Verify descriptions - Verify the clothing worn by the suspect in comparison to the witness statements. Video surveillance immediately prior to the incident, e.g. suspect entering the store, that shows the clothing worn matches the description given by the witness. Look for others that match the clothing and physical description. 
• Time cards (employee's) - Whether the suspect is an employee, or the witness, simply asking the client to verify that either, or both, were working that day is another verification method. Having this information in the report supports they were at the site when the incident occurred. 
• Follow the property - If property is involved, whether altering time records, or items stolen, follow the property in the next step in the timeline. A suspect says they gave the items to a friend? Talk to the friend to see if they received the items. Of course you want to try and recover them as well. Ask the client to conduct an inventory where appropriate to verify the item(s) are missing. 
• Identify & Interview "supporting" witnesses - As a part of the timeline, conducting follow-up interviews with supporting witnesses that can verify the location of other witnesses, or the suspect. Supporting witnesses provide information about the presence and/or disappearance of items are critical as well. For example; Supporting witness observed the eye witness and the suspect enter the area where the incident occurred are great ways to verify statements of both. 
• Identify & Interview "informative" witnesses - Primarily in incidents involving employees, it is important to gain information about processes and procedures. For example; employees are not allowed to take items from the store. Interview a human resources representative, or manager to verify that this is a prohibited act. Other informative witnesses may include inventory clerks, or others with information that supports the incident did in fact occur, even if they were not at the scene at the time it occurred. One PI said he makes a point to interview custodial staff. They often move around the workplace without anyone paying much attention. They often are great sources of informative or supporting witness information. 

Verifying each piece of information provided by suspects and witnesses will ensure that your case is complete and accurate. Any discrepancies should be investigated further until there is no doubt. This will help maintain the integrity of your case in the event memories of witnesses fade, or the suspect refuses to talk anymore.