Emotional Intelligence in Police Interviews—Approach, Training and the Usefulness of the Concept

Eliciting human intelligence: police source handlers’ perceptions and experiences of rapport during covert human intelligence sources (CHIS) interactions

“…a frustration in delays in reward payments or concerns regarding the taskings). Moreover, as the role of a source handler is to elicit information that is often highly personal, a lack of empathy has been shown to be damaging towards an existing relationship (Risan, Binder, & Milne, 2016 ) and a barrier against effective rapport building.…”

“…Participants noted that for rapport training, individuals require an existing natural basis of interpersonal skills, which in turn can be developed through training. Participants perceived interpersonal skills to involve elements of verbal and nonverbal communication techniques, adequate self-awareness, being personable, and genuine empathy (Redlich et al., 2014 ; Risan et al., 2016 ). One participant compared training rapport to interview training:…”

“…Participants noted that for rapport training, individuals require an existing natural basis of interpersonal skills, which in turn can be developed through training. Participants perceived interpersonal skills to involve elements of verbal and nonverbal communication techniques, adequate self-awareness, being personable, and genuine empathy (Redlich et al, 2014;Risan et al, 2016 It is likely that source handlers already implicitly use motivational interviewing skills; however, training that incorporates motivational interviewing may reinforce effective interviewers to become more aware of the skills they are using to build rapport (Alison et al, 2015). Further still, it is important that source handlers are aware of how maladaptive behaviours may be detrimental to rapport (Alison et al, 2014) and ultimately intelligence collection (Alison & Alison, 2017).…”

An initial investigation into the nature and function of rapport in investigative interviews

“…Additional loads on interviewers may produce more noise in thinking about interactions, which may affect rapport assessments. Relatedly, interviewers with different occupational backgrounds and experiences may differ in their perceptions of rapport (e.g., see Risan, Binder, & Milne, 2016).…”

“…Additional loads on interviewers may produce more noise in thinking about interactions, which may affect rapport assessments. Relatedly, interviewers with different occupational backgrounds and experiences may differ in their perceptions of rapport (e.g., see Risan, Binder, & Milne, 2016). The findings need to be replicated in future studies that assess multiple sources of rapport in less restricted contexts with more diverse types of interviewers.…”