“Mistakes” can be your ally

August 03, 2005 12:02 PM •

Need some detailed information from a reluctant source? Trying planting an intentional mistake or two into the conversation and see how fast you get what you need. Trainer Pat McCarthy, creator of the “Street Cop” video training series and an expert on getting street sources to talk, suggests that this can be an extremely effective strategy.

“Say you’re trying to track someone down and you’d really like to get in touch with his girlfriend to see what she knows,” says McCarthy. “Problem is, you don’t know if he actually has a girlfriend, who she is and where she lives. The guy’s friends haven’t been cooperative with other questions you’ve asked so there’s no reason to expect that they’ll give up a girlfriend’s information. What now?”

McCarthy recommends tossing out strategic errors as a way to get the intel flowing. He suggests trying to develop a back-and-forth like the following:

YOU: Hey, is Jimmy still going out with that girl Susan?

(“You actually have no idea who Susan is,” says McCarthy, “but you make it sound like this guy could in fact be going out with her. Watch how fast these guys reflexively correct you.”)

STREET SOURCE: Huh?! No, man. He’s not datin’ no ‘Susan.’ You don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.

YOU: Yeah, I know exactly what I’m talking about. He’s dating Susan. He’s been with her for months. Man, you’re his friends?! You don’t know squat about him, do you?

STREET SOURCE: You’re full of crap. He’s with Mary. You’re the one who don’t know squat.

YOU: Oh, wait. Yeah, Mary. The one who lives on Elston Avenue . Yeah. I know her.

STREET SOURCE: Bullshit. You don’t know her. She’s not on Elston. She’s on Fullerton .

YOU: No way, man. I’m telling you I can call directory information right now and get her address. I bet you anything she’s on Elston! What’s her last name? I’ll call them right now. What’s the address you think the operator is going to give me, Einstein?

“In a matter of minutes, you’ve confirmed that he has a girlfriend, you’ve grabbed her first and last name and you found out where she lives,” McCarthy points out. “You got all this information by luring your target’s friends in with some strategically planted mistakes and giving them a chance to look smarter than you.

“Play your cards right and these guys will see this as a game of who KNOWS more and completely miss the fact that the real game is who can GIVE UP more.”

Investigations Officer Safety

Scott Buhrmaster

Scott Buhrmaster is the CEO of Calibre Press, one of the leading law enforcement training and information providers in the industry. Scott’s 30-year tenure began in 1989 when he originally signed on with Calibre where he was involved in the creation and marketing of the organization’s popular training courses and award-winning textbooks, videos and online publications.

In 1999, Scott launched The Buhrmaster Group, an organization focused on helping law enforcement training companies develop, market and expand their training efforts. Among his clients was Police1.com, which he signed on with full time as their vice president of training and editorial. During that period, Scott was named to the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Institute, at the time a newly developing organization which was also among his list of clients. Following a seven-year tenure at Police1, Scott signed on with Force Science full-time, initially serving as their vice president of operations and most recently serving as their COO.

Scott has been a long-time contributor to Police1 and has written extensively for other publications and Web sites in the law enforcement market. Additionally, he helped launch two of the most popular e-newsletters in the industry; the Street Survival Newsline and Force Science News. While at Police1, Scott served as the publisher of Police Marksman magazine and a contributing editor for Law Officer magazine.