Investigative Interviewing: A Team-level Approach

To date, the tandem interview approach has yet to be scientifically vetted as an investigative interviewing technique. Specifically, it is unclear what affect the application of two interviewers has on the investigative process. This is alarming considering that this approach is regularly applied under current law enforcement operations. Despite a dearth of research examining the tandem interview approach in investigative interviews, the extensive research on teams would lead us to believe that teams should benefit the overall investigative interview process and outperform individuals in detecting lies. Consequently, the goals of this research were to investigate these potential benefits. Findings from a laboratory study consisting of 90 simulated investigative interviews (N = 225) revealed several advantages associated with the application of the tandem interview approach. First, tandem interviewers found conducting the investigative interview to be less cognitively demanding and paid more attention to diagnostic cues to deception. Second, tandem interviewers conducted superior interviews than single interviewers. Specifically, they were able to obtain more information from interviewees, asked more open-ended questions, and asked a greater total number of questions. Despite outperforming single interviewers during the interview, tandem interviewers were unable to detect deception better than single interviewers. Still, overall detection rates were better than previous research. The general findings from this study suggest that tandem interviewers that adopt a rapport-based approach throughout the investigative interview can enhance investigative interviewing outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed