Foundations of Investigative Interviewing
A Practitioner's Guide
by John Tedeschini & Sandy Jung

Written for professionals without formal interviewing training, this book covers the practical skills you need, with techniques that work across all types of investigations.

Investigative interviewing plays a critical role in the work of professionals who prevent and respond to violence and other harmful behaviors. Its relevance extends well beyond the criminal justice system to post-secondary campuses and schools, corporate organizations, government departments, military operations, health and safety inspections, and fire and rescue investigations. Strong interviewing skills help professionals gather high-quality information and support sound decision-making across a range of complex situations.

These skills may be used to investigate academic misconduct in a school, harassment and threats on a campus, conflict of interest behaviors by a government official, sexual misconduct in a workplace, unethical practice in a business, to name just a few. Seeing as these responsibilities span such a wide range of roles, professionals across disciplines need reliable interviewing skills.

Foundations of Investigative Interviewing is a valuable resource for mental health professionals, probation and parole officers, human resource administrators, correctional officers, and anyone whose work involves conducting interviews. This book helps readers gain proficiency with evidence-based techniques, feel more confident in their approach, and foster stronger relationships with those they interview.

The chapters guide readers through the cycle of steps to developing strong interviewing skills:

• Investigative Interviewing and Core Skills
• Planning and Preparation
• Rapport Building
• Active Listening
• Productive Questioning
• Structured Investigative Interviewing
• Challenging and Difficult Interview Contexts
• Appendix A: Navigating Virtual Interviews
• Appendix B: Tandem Interviewing

In addition to this practical advice, the authors provide several tools that will help you implement the techniques presented. Planning checklists help readers prepare for interviews (with a downloadable PDF packet available for reuse). "Bungle" boxes present examples of how interviews can go in unpredictable directions, helping you mentally prepare to be flexible and to learn from these situations. And the tip lists dive more deeply into important aspects of many interviews.

The goal of Foundations of Investigative Interviewing is straightforward: to help professionals develop the practical skills to conduct effective investigative interviews with competence and care.

Click here to view the Table of Contents and Introduction.