Why Would I Lie?
A detective who took my class on Investigative Statement Analysis sent me follow-up on one of his cases. It was a home invasion burglary attempt that was reported by a young female.
He obtained an open, free-narrative statement from her about the incident and saw that there were several indicators within her statement that caused the investigator to question her further, and upon probing, there were still concerns about the credibility of her account.
One of the questions he asked towards the end of the interview was, "Why should I believe your statement?" The detective said she answered with everything but "I'm telling you the truth” or any level of commitment. He said she stated "I would never lie", "I am not that type of person", "why would I make this up".
She eventually admitted that she made up the story about the intruder.
Often, it is very difficult for a deceptive person to say "I told the truth", "I didn't lie", "I didn't make this up" or any assertion of commitment to what they are saying. This is true only when the individual is interviewed in a non-confrontational manner. The reason for this is that if the investigator is confrontational, accuses the subject of lying or threatens them, this can "force" the individual into the corner and make it easier for them to say something like, "I didn't lie". That's why confrontational interviewing often ends up with "YOU DID IT!"..."NO I DIDN'T"..."YES YOU DID!!"..."NO I DIDN'T!!!" which is not beneficial at all for the interviewer, the investigation or in reaching the truth.
Non-confrontational interviewing such as the training that this detective attended, obtains information from people through open questions and probes their response, whether it is a written statement or an oral narrative, though careful analysis of their words and language. This leads to more clarity, fuller and more complete information, and often a revelation of the truth that was hidden within the words they used.