By Joseph Auriemma, Jr.
Twenty minutes into a homicide interview, the suspect suddenly looked at me and asked, “Am I going to jail?” Let’s be honest, that may be a step toward an admission, but it’s not a question we want to answer that soon in the interview. No research paper could prepare you for how to answer that. If you say “no,” are you lying? Because if they did commit the murder, odds are they’re going to jail. If you say “yes,” the interview is probably over. No scripted interview technique or check-the-box training told me how to handle that moment, but real-world interviewing experience did. And that’s what got me the confession.
That’s why I say it every time I train officers: You don’t need a script. You need a strategy.
What officers really need
Over time, I realized I wasn’t the only one struggling to navigate difficult conversations. Many officers face the same challenge: they seek practical, real-world tools that genuinely help them advance conversations, rather than just theoretical models.
When I first started out, I had a natural style that seemed to work when it came to interviewing people. I could initiate conversations and build some rapport, but when things got difficult, when the subject clammed up or the conversation turned emotional or tense, I didn’t always know what to do next. I made mistakes. And I didn’t want to keep making them.
So I began searching for a more effective approach. I went to every training I could. Some were excellent. Others were so rigid or accusatory that they felt like a step backward. I kept what worked and threw out what didn’t. Over time, as I gained experience and had hundreds of interviews under my belt, I was entrusted to build an entirely new interview training program for the New York State Police.
Through trial and error, wins and losses, and extensive research, I realized this: the best training is adaptable, grounded in sound practices, and proven in real cases. And it comes down to what officers truly need to succeed:
- Make it simple: If they can’t recall it under pressure, they won’t use it.
- Make it adaptable: The method must work in a patrol car, on the roadside, in a business, or in an interview room. If it only works in a classroom, it doesn’t work.
- Make it authentic: Officers learn best from instructors who’ve sat across from suspects and failed and won, not just those who recite from a textbook.
- Make it strategic: Knowing when to pivot, when to clarify, when to challenge, and when to stay quiet.
Police officers are naturally skeptical, and they should be. If the course feels scripted, overloaded with jargon, or disconnected from the realities of the job, they’ll tune it out just as quickly as they would an untested instructor.
Six things you can give your officers today
If you’re a training leader or supervisor, here are six strategies you can give your officers right now:
1. Train strategy, not scripts.
Frameworks matter more than formulas. Instead of memorizing a script, show officers how to adapt when a subject clams up or changes direction. Role-play a scenario where a suspect suddenly asks, “Am I going to jail?” and walk through multiple response paths.
2. Start with connection, not control.
The first five minutes set the tone. Have officers practice finding common ground, such as family, work, or hobbies, before diving into the incident. It’s not about being soft; it’s about opening a channel. I remember one robbery suspect who wouldn’t talk. Forty-five minutes in, arms crossed, head down, staring at the table. Nothing was working. Then I shifted. I brought up something his sister had said about him being the “man of the house” since their father left. His posture changed. He looked up. And just like that, we had a real conversation. That shift didn’t come from a checklist; it came from experience, from knowing when to switch gears and make it human.
3. Use TEDS to drive depth.
Train them to ask: Tell, Explain, Describe, Show. These prompts obtain fine-grained details far more than closed-ended questions. Pair it with a sketch or recall exercise so officers see how memory improves when the subject engages their senses.
4. Teach officers how to pivot.
Real interviews can be derailed by phones ringing, friends or family interrupting, other officers on the scene, or emotions boiling over. Officers need to practice recovering, pausing when someone grows angry, re-grounding with empathy, or circling back after a disruption.
5. Role-play emotional shifts.
A suspect may go from calm to combative in seconds. Officers should train to spot those shifts and stay composed.
6. Use evidence strategically, not aggressively.
Evidence is a scalpel, not a hammer. Train officers to hold back, set context, and then introduce facts in a way that builds credibility instead of cornering the subject. While assigned to the Major Crimes Unit, I was tasked with assisting a detective from a city police department with a suspect interview in a homicide investigation. I had been slowly locking the suspect into their story, allowing them to tell me where they were and who they were with. I was sure they were lying, but allowing them to speak uninterrupted, even if their claims were untrue, was helping me build rapport and trust with the suspect. This would be valuable later when the conversation became difficult. Suddenly, the detective, who was tired of listening to the lies, said, “We have you on camera at the Mobil a block from the murder. Do you want to change your story?” Before I could even turn and look at the detective, the suspect had already asked for his lawyer.
A strategy that always points north
Every time I train, I drive home one point: you don’t need a script. You need a strategy. But strategy can feel abstract unless you have something to anchor it. That’s why I created the Adaptive Strategies Compass, a tool designed to guide officers when conversations become unpredictable.
Like a compass, it doesn’t give you a rigid path. Instead, it orients you. It keeps you from getting lost. The compass guides you on how to navigate the conversation to obtain accurate and reliable information, while also helping you avoid getting lost in scripts, buzzwords, or outdated tactics.
Each point represents a direction you can take depending on where the interview goes:
- Teach to talk: Helps the subject understand what detail sounds like.
- ACCESS Model: Helps you prepare for the interview by creating structure without rigidity.
- Personality assessment: Recognize personality types to shape your questions.
- Cognitive interview: Enhances memory and recall.
- Route map: Plan question routes based on the subject’s possible motives.
- Motive mapping: Uncover what drives the subject’s behavior.
- Strategic use of evidence: Introduce evidence with precision.
- Alignment method: Address inconsistencies in their story.
The Compass isn’t a checklist. It’s a reminder that you always have options, and that strategy, not script, should guide the conversation.
Not long ago, I gave a four-hour overview of investigative interviewing and the Adaptive Strategies Compass at a law enforcement symposium. One of the attendees, assigned to a state police task force focused on crimes against children, reached out before an upcoming interview with a suspect.
We walked through the six strategies I’ve outlined in this article and how they applied to the case, along with a brief explanation of the Compass modules. A week later, they called to tell me they had secured a full confession and even uncovered details about an unknown victim.
That outcome didn’t come from a script. It came from a strategy applied in the real world.
Where research fits in
I’ve read the research. I’ve studied academic papers. I respect the work of the scholars who’ve pushed interviewing forward, especially when it comes to minimizing false confessions, improving memory recall, and protecting vulnerable populations.
Let me be clear: I’m not anti-science. I rely on it. Science has helped us understand memory, trauma, deception, and communication better than ever before. But here’s the difference: I use science to sharpen my tools, not to dictate a script.
Good research tells us what’s likely to work. But the person across the table from you didn’t read that study. They don’t follow your model. They react based on emotions such as fear, pride, guilt, or confusion. You need the flexibility to meet them where they are and guide them where they need to go.
That’s why the best approach is evidence-based and field-proven. The research should guide the method, but experience should shape the delivery.
Here are three examples of research that have genuinely advanced the field of interviewing:
- The cognitive interview (Fisher & Geiselman, 1980s): Research showed that memory recall improves dramatically when witnesses are encouraged to reinstate context, change perspective, and recall events in different orders. I’ve seen this play out firsthand: giving someone space to mentally “walk through” the scene can unlock details that a direct question would miss.
- Strategic use of evidence (Granhag & Hartwig, 2000s): Studies found that presenting evidence gradually and strategically, rather than front-loading it, exposes deception more effectively and increases cooperation. In practice, it teaches officers patience, letting the subject talk themselves into a corner before introducing facts that matter.
- Rapport-based approaches (e.g., Alison, Meissner, Gudjonsson, 2000s–present): A growing body of research confirms that rapport isn’t “soft.” It increases information yield, reduces resistance, and protects against false confessions. It’s not about being friendly; it’s about creating a human connection that makes talking feel safer than staying silent.
Officers need the flexibility to adapt research-backed strategies to unpredictable human conversations.
I’ve sat in rooms with victims in tears, witnesses who didn’t trust police, and suspects who lied until the evidence was presented to them. Through it all, one truth has held up: rapport-based interviewing wins.
It’s about listening more than talking, observing more than assuming, and guiding without dominating.
A call to training leaders
If we want officers to conduct better interviews, solve more cases, and protect both truth and integrity, then training must change. Not tomorrow. Not eventually. Now.
Stop leading with labels. Start leading with real-world, field-tested skills backed by research.
Stop putting theory-only instruction in front of officers. Start choosing trainers and courses forged in actual interviews, not just academic papers.
At the end of the day, suspects don’t confess to science. They confess to people. And the people who succeed already understand the simple truth: the next generation of training has to move past scripts and labels and toward strategy. You don’t need a script. You need a strategy.
About the author
Joseph Auriemma, Jr., INCI, spent over 24 years with the New York State Police and retired as a Senior Investigator. In that role, he supervised major criminal investigations handled by five investigators and twenty-five troopers at his station.
Over his career, Joseph worked both as a uniformed trooper and as a criminal investigator. He spent two years at a Child Advocacy Center investigating crimes against children and six years in the Major Crimes Unit handling homicides, suspicious deaths, and other serious cases. Across seventeen years in the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, he conducted thousands of interviews and interrogations that directly contributed to successful prosecutions.
Joseph has been a certified polygraph examiner since 2015 and served as one of two Regional Coordinators for the New York State Police Polygraph Unit. As the lead instructor at the State Police Academy, he developed and taught courses in investigative interviewing, crisis negotiation, and search warrant writing. In 2019, he was honored with the George M. Searle Memorial Award for distinguished contributions to training and education within the State Police.
He is an IADLEST Nationally Certified Instructor (INCI) and a New York State DCJS-certified Police Instructor. Joseph now leads Advanced Strategic Communications, LLC, where he develops programs for both the public and private sectors that teach the principles of effective investigative interviewing. He is also the creator of Teach to Talk™ and the Adaptive Strategies Compass™. He can be reached at joseph@ascjoe.com.
