Let’s talk cop interviews and the quest for information. Who, what, when, where, and why, are the standard questions needing answers. The greater number of truthful answers obtained, the more thorough your report will be, and the greater the odds your investigation will end successfully. Easy.
Now, add into the cop interview mix 911 calls for assistance. These have an impact on the quest for information. You arrived on a burglary call and just started interviewing the store owner when an injury accident is broadcasted. Dispatch advises you need to clear and respond to the accident. No, this isn’t an unusual circumstance, and no, there isn’t anyone else to handle the burglary. You tell the store owner your leaving for an emergency and will return. And just like that your caught in the murk and mire of case time investment and time management.
Believe me, cop interviews take a backseat to the dated model police administration’s use to quantify a good day for a street cop. Number of calls for service, traffic enforcement actions, arrests, and reports taken, are looked at to distinguish the hard working from the sluggish, and are reviewed to measure an officers worthiness for specialty assignments.
This same model and stats are utilized to determine crime rate and the safety of a community. The greater the positive statistical data the greater ability to prove need for continued services, improved budgets and added personnel. So what does any of this have to do with interviewing? 911 calls for service rules the cops day, statistical output justifies employment, and time management measures ability to perform duties. Generally speaking the hours in a work shift aren’t enough to satisfy administrative wants, properly interact with the public, document an arrest, the issuing of traffic citations, and the writing of reports without overtime; but overtime to complete average work responsibilities is frowned upon, so it’s been an acceptable practice to accelerate through all interviews . “Just the facts ma’am.”
The cop interview is where work time is gained. Accelerate the interview and create time to complete the required duties expected of you. Supervisor’s are happy, the administration is happy, and what does it matter if the public is unhappy due to you being hurried, short, or abrasive. Well, if you’re in touch with reality you know, the public, those we protect and serve, are not happy with how we interact with them, and it’s not good for any of us.
When minimal time is invested in the interview, law enforcement exposes its greatest failure, to build trust and friendship with the community. When only the facts are sought, we minimize the harm caused to a person by negating the story behind the facts. We lose the opportunity to share compassion and encouragement and we earn the untrust appointed to us.
The victim, witness, involved person behind the facts is deserving of our unabridged attention. This will not occur if we continue to be dedicated to an outdated statistically influenced police operations model. We must change our course. We must begin to not just protect those we are sent to serve, but take the time to care for them too. Listening to their story while collecting the facts is a good start ~ LZ