Dan became a detective in 2004. Since then, he has been an Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) interviewer, a Tier 3 interviewer for complex and serious crimes and a Tier 5 interview coordinator. These deployments have given Dan some of the highlights of his career and remain an aspect of policing that he is very passionate about.

silent treatment during suspect interviews Dealing with the silent treatment during suspect interviews

This study has established a strong foundation for further research in the experiences of the interviewer, and into which factors regularly affect the interviewer’s performance in the interview environment. Bandura A. (1986). 'Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive view'. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. the belief that the interviewer had received sufficient training to deal with a no-comment or silent interviewee The negative experience of those reluctant investigators seemed to be exacerbated when suspects remained silent or made no comment. In 2017, as part of my undergraduate degree, I had the opportunity to research why this might be. Literature review When pressure levels were compared with the aforementioned independent variables, there was a weak correlation between pressure experienced and the age and length of service of the interviewer. There was no correlation between pressure experienced and gender, role or prior interviewing experience. ConclusionsUltimately, she quit. She had lasted five years. McDonald has now written a book about her experiences, No Comment: What I Wish I’d Known About Becoming a Detective, in which she lays bare the realities of life in the police force, and which the police force is unlikely to use as an advertising manual for potential new recruits. These personal stressors, combined with the intensity of Jess’s training, induced a bout of depression that alienated her supervisor and led to workplace bullying, which directly precipitated her eventual resignation barely 12 months of graduation. She was not the only Direct Entry to leave, to date only four members of her own class remain in the service, the result, she suggests, of a number of factors. Probably the most important book on the state of British policing you'll ever read' Graham Bartlett Before undertaking the study, I conducted a thorough literature review, to gain insight into the following areas:

No Comment: What I Wish I Knew About Becoming A Detective

Kuhlmann and others (2005) identified that when people were subjected to low-level stress, they demonstrated a notable reduction in their ability to recall information. Similarly, a study conducted by Schwabe and others (2007) revealed that low levels of stress can simplify learning patterns at the expense of cognitive flexibility, making it harder to apply knowledge to new situations. Media companies had sought this change from Facebook as part of the Australian government’s news media bargaining code legislation, which passed the parliament last month. The exposure draft for the legislation contained a section requiring the platforms like Facebook to allow for news businesses to moderate comments, but this was removed from the legislation when it was introduced into parliament.People complain to the police all the time that they’re not doing enough [to secure a conviction], but what they have to understand is that our work was often frustrated by the next step in the criminal justice system. The Crown Prosecution Service isn’t really fit for purpose; they’re failing to keep people safe time and again. If the CPS doesn’t deal with it properly, then there’s only so much the police can do.” For thirty-something Jess, the programme had immediate appeal, not only because of her love of true crime podcasts, but because she felt strongly about justice, in part triggered by civil case she had brought against her former employer. This presents Sussex Police and the wider interviewing community with an opportunity to refine interview training with the goal of increasing interviewer’s self-efficacy levels, which will benefit their interviewing skills. Yeschke CL. (1997). 'The art of investigative interviewing: A human approach to testimonial evidence'. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. About the author

No Comment” Responses to Questions in Police Investigative “No Comment” Responses to Questions in Police Investigative

At one point in the book, she recounts living in shared police accommodation, and how one male officer filmed a female counterpart in the shower. He was reported, but not fired. The officer’s next job was to protect victims of sexual offences.

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Calvo MG and Carreiras M. (1993). 'Selective influence of test anxiety on reading processes'. British Journal of Psychology, 84(3), pp 375–388. Details of Jess’s personal life are interspersed among the narrative, and I understood why these intimate elements were included though I found them a bit uncomfortable at times.

Review: No Comment by Jess McDonald – Book’d Out

A staffing crisis in the British Metropolitan Police Service led to the introduction of a controversial initiative called the Direct Entry Detective Scheme in 2017. Jess McDonald was one of 4,500 applicants, and underwent a rigorous vetting process to become accepted into the programme. Bandura A, Adams NE and Beyer J. (1977). 'Cognitive processes mediating behavioral change'. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(3), pp 125–139. Written with honesty and self reflection, in a personable tone, No Comment offers interesting insight into the experience of working as a detective attached to CSU in London, albeit under unusual circumstances. I think it would be a valuable read for anyone interested in joining the police force, especially those considering the Direct Entry Scheme. Initially, I took a qualitative approach to establish the structure and wording of the survey statements, by conducting focus group discussions with Tier 3 interviewers. The purpose of these discussions was to establish rich descriptive language that most appropriately described the feelings experienced by interviewers during a no-comment or silent interview.

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Shepherd E, ed. (1993). 'Aspects of police interviewing'. British Psychological Society: Leicester.