INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES

Interviewing Techniques in my career as a Law Enforcement Officer

Interviewing Techniques in my career as a Law Enforcement Officer

As a police officer, I come across a variety of new challenges and experiences every day. However, one responsibility that remains uniform through every day on the job is that which pertains to interviewing. In this paper, I will attempt to highlight how my career as a police officer in the Blue Island Police Department has equipped me with the interviewing skills that are necessary to be an effective interviewer. The spontaneous nature of the job and the extensive communication with the public has helped to hone my interviewing and interrogation skills extensively.

My experience on the force has taught me that a police officer can never be true to his/her badge unless he/she respects the public. As police officers, we serve the public and channel our energy towards the maintenance of law and order. In order to serve the public, it is essential for us to understand the public. A police officer needs to be skilled in people management just as much as he/she needs to be trained in weapons handling (Milne & Bull, 1999). Information collection can influence decisions significantly and it can make all the difference between a mistake and a job well done. As a police officer, I often have to collect information from suspects. This requires me to conduct interview sessions on-the-spot (Buckley, 2006). In scenarios such as these, I have to gather as much accurate information as I can in the limited time I have. The information I gather influences my actions so I have to be exercise all my available skills to conduct information collection interviews. In addition, my position calls for me to deal with individuals with unique personalities and characteristics on a daily basis. As a result, I have to ensure that my questions are relevant to the purpose of my interrogation.

I realize that being a police officer gives me extensive authority. However, I also realize that my authority comes with a responsibility that I cannot deny. In order to be true to my position as a police officer, I have to ensure that my decisions and actions are based on infallible judgments; and my judgments are based on accurate information (Horvath & Meesig, 2001). In essence, the collection of accurate information plays an important part in the fulfillment of my responsibilities as a police officer. As a result, I choose to interview my suspects extensively before I decide on a course of action. I feel that no two scenarios are alike and every scenario deserves individual attention and consideration. However, in order to give each scenario the consideration it merits it is essential to collect adequate information on it (Buckley, 2006). My interviewing skills are challenged on a daily basis through the fact that I have to conduct countless interviews on a normal day. Every time I pull over a civilian, I have to be prepared to face whatever may come to ...