The impact of rapport on intelligence yield: police source handler telephone interactions with covert human intelligence sources

Nunan, Jordan; Stanier, Ian; Milne, Rebecca; Shawyer, Andrea; Walsh, David; May, Brandon

doi:10.1080/13218719.2020.1784807

Cited by 15 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Rapport is often variously and abstractly described across domains, such as being a "harmonious, empathetic, or sympathetic relation or connection" [31], "a smooth, positive interpersonal interaction" ([32], p. 208), or "a relationship marked by conformity" ( [33], p. 51). A focused review of the forensic rapport literature also reveals a large research focus on i) mapping the presence and/or absence of rapportbuilding techniques and their likely impact on interview outcomes (e.g., [25,26,34]), or ii) developing and applying models of rapport and interpersonal communication using real-life interview data (e.g., [11,28,[35][36][37]). Some focus has been placed on experimentally manipulating the presence/absence of various rapport behaviours in witness interview settings, although this research base is currently small and limited [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapport building and witness memory: Actions may ‘speak’ louder than words

et al. 2021

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Building rapport during police interviews is argued as important for improving on the completeness and accuracy of information provided by witnesses and victims. However, little experimental research has clearly operationalised rapport and investigated the impact of rapport behaviours on episodic memory. Eighty adults watched a video of a mock crime event and 24-hours later were randomly allocated to an interview condition where verbal and/or behavioural (non-verbal) rapport techniques were manipulated. Memorial performance measures revealed significantly more correct information, without a concomitant increase in errors, was elicited when behavioural rapport was present, a superiority effect found in both the free and probed recall phase of interviews. The presence of verbal rapport was found to reduce recall accuracy in the free recall phase of interviews. Post-interview feedback revealed significant multivariate effects for the presence of behavioural (only) rapport and combined (behavioural + verbal) rapport. Participants rated their interview experience far more positively when these types of rapport were present compared to when verbal (only) rapport or no rapport was present. These findings add weight to the importance of rapport in supporting eyewitness cognition, highlighting the potential consequences of impoverished social behaviours for building rapport during dyadic interactions, suggesting ‘doing’ rather than simply ‘saying’ may be more beneficial.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapport building and witness memory: Actions may ‘speak’ louder than words

et al. 2021

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“…In experimental studies, building rapport has also been shown to increase cooperation and admissions from individuals in both Western (Brimbal et al, 2019; Evans et al, 2014) and non-Western populations (Huang & Teoh, 2019; Wachi et al, 2018). Field and observational data suggest that rapport-based tactics facilitate information obtained from real-world suspects (Alison et al, 2013; K. Collins & Carthy, 2019; C. E. Kelly et al, 2016; Walsh & Bull, 2012); human intelligence sources (Nunan et al, 2020); and victims of crime (Kim et al, 2020).…”

Section: Self-disclosurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Field and observational data suggest that rapport-based tactics facilitate information obtained from real-world suspects (Alison et al, 2013;K. Collins & Carthy, 2019; C. E. Kelly et al, 2016;Walsh & Bull, 2012); human intelligence sources (Nunan et al, 2020); and victims of crime (Kim et al, 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using disclosure, common ground, and verification to build rapport and elicit information.

Dianiska¹,

Swanner²,

Brimbal³

et al. 2021

Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

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Rapport-based approaches have become a central tenet of investigative interviewing with suspects and sources. Here we explored the utility of using rapport-building tactics (i.e., self-disclosure and interviewer feedback) to overcome barriers to cooperation in the interviewing domain. Across two experiments using the illegal behaviors paradigm (Dianiska et al., 2019), participants completed a checklist of illegal behaviors and were then interviewed about their background and interests (the interpersonal interview) as well as about their prior participation in an illegal act (the illegal behavior interview). During the interpersonal interview, we manipulated whether the participant’s disclosure was unilateral or reciprocal (Experiment 1; N = 124), and whether the interviewer self-disclosed and/or provided the participant with verifying feedback in response to the participant’s disclosures (Experiment 2; N = 210). Participants were then asked to provide a statement about the most serious illegal behavior to which they had admitted. For both experiments, participants provided more information about the prior illegal act when the interviewer provided information about themselves. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the amount of information elicited from the participant when the interviewer highlighted similarity with the participant. In line with prior work, we found support for an indirect relationship between the use of rapport-building tactics and disclosure that was mediated by the participant’s perception of rapport and their decision to cooperate.

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“…Rapport is critical to the elicitation of intelligence (Nunan et al 2020a). Rapport outperforms accusatorial approaches (Evans et al 2013) as it increases the information gained (Nunan et al 2020b), enhances cooperation and increases trust (Alison and Alison 2017). Remote communication, however, does not mean intelligence cannot be elicited (Nunan et al 2020c), but environmental factors may benefit elicitation, with the size of a room influencing a person's tendency to open up (Okken et al 2013).…”

Section: Covid 19: the Impact On Recruitment And Elicitationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID-19 on UK informant use and management

Stanier

Nunan

2021

Policing and Society

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The effect of COVID-19 on informant use and management, during the peak of the imposed Government lockdown measures was felt across English and Welsh police Dedicated Source Units. Within these restrictions, staff managing informants had to develop and then implement new strategies that delivered safe, yet effective, informant handling capacity and capability. Based on a survey of 205 respondents directly involved in the handling, control or authorisation of informants, this article examined their perceptions of the effect of COVID-19 in this highly specialised policing activity. The research findings revealed five broad themes associated with the impact of COVID-19 on informant management practices: (i) health protection; (ii) governance; (iii) innovation and technology; (iv) recruitment, communication and informant development and (v) tradecraft and intelligence. The article explored the organisational responses to initiating and maintaining informant-handler relationships and ensuring the flow of intelligence within this unique operational environment. Participants perceived that handler-informant relationships were strengthened, and also indications of a willingness to adapt policy and procedure associated with the informant management cycle: targeting, initial recruitment contact, assessment and evaluation, tasking and deployment and payment of informant rewards. It also highlighted a wider consensus that there was further scope for enhancing resilience to similar future pandemics including the use of enabling technology and responsive policy adaptation.

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The impact of rapport on intelligence yield: police source handler telephone interactions with covert human intelligence sources

Cited by 15 publications

References 49 publications

Rapport building and witness memory: Actions may ‘speak’ louder than words

Rapport building and witness memory: Actions may ‘speak’ louder than words

Using disclosure, common ground, and verification to build rapport and elicit information.

The impact of COVID-19 on UK informant use and management

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