There is a way to interview someone on record, though, who you may believe has something to do with your offence. And that is with a voluntary interview and it's as the title suggests, completely voluntarily on the part of the person you are interviewing. So you need to keep things civil and polite. You need to keep things civil and polite in everyday interviews, but I know we're talking fiction so if you want to get antsy in your arrest interview then that's up to you. But factually, talking police procedures – they can get up and walk out of a voluntary interview at any point.
Interviews were the thing I loved most when I was in the police. I thrived on interviewing. I could spend all day, including several hours of overtime down in the custody block, interviewing and be in heaven, because it really was what I enjoyed. I was trained as an advanced interviewer before leaving and it really is one of the things I miss. Writing this post is bringing back memories and making me miss that custody block. The smell, the closed in feel, the noise. The interview planning, the hours talking, breaks, talking some more. The real meaty jobs that needed some work putting in. They're not over in half an hour as depicted in fiction of whatever medium you consider.
But, back to what you want to know. If you're wanting to use a voluntary interview in your fiction then you need some evidence, but maybe not as much as you'd like. You have to consider if you're tipping your hand. But it's your story and if you want them in, then you want them in. But no, you can't just have them in with no evidence for a "chat".
A voluntary interview is where you question a suspect in relation to an offence, but they are entitled to have a solicitor present.
And if you have no evidence against them, it's not the suspect's place to incriminate themselves in an interview, to provide you with the evidence you need. So any solicitor, after you've provided disclosure of your case (which is another blog topic), will advise their client to go no comment – unless of course that said client is genuinely not guilty and has, say, a rock solid alibi or was genuinely defending themselves, or something similar, then they could advise on truth.
The interview format itself is nearly identical to an arrest interview, you have to caution them, record it by audio equipment, or video, provide free and independent legal advice, but tell them they are free to leave at any time. The other thing is, you can do the interview at any place, the police station, their home address or workplace. But you do need to record it wherever you decide to interview and the free legal advice is still a requirement.
I think the phrase "Helping us with our enquiries' is maybe a phrase that is given out to the press? Is that where it's come from? When that's said, it may mean, a voluntary interview if they're not telling you they've arrested someone. Because, as I say, the only way to make someone stay in a police station and talk to you is by arresting them.
I hope this has cleared this weird area of policing up for you a little? It's a strange one for people. If you have any questions on it, leave it in the comments section and if you have any questions you want covering in future blog posts, also, leave those in the comments.
You can find all previous posts in this series, Here.
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Thanks, Mel. I really appreciate that.
That's funny it's the one thing you miss the most. But I imagine a good interrogator has to relish what she does.
Absolutely. It's the planning. Then the interaction and the slow and steady rhythm as you pick apart their story, finding the loose threads. Just fascinating stuff.
Thank you, Rebecca. This is all really, really interesting, and of course, it's helpful, too. I didn't know that you were an advanced interviewer! That must have been fascinating, and I can see why you miss it.
I adored it, Margot. Advance interviewing is intense. But so so worth it if you enjoy it. And yes, really fascinating.
Thanks, Caroline. From you, that means a lot. I loved interviewing. I still miss it. Working an interview slowly and steadily until they say something that doesn't fit and you just want to start jumping up and down but you sit there and carry on just waiting until it's time to put it all to them. Brilliant!
Being in the police seems like a great way to get insights into the criminal mind. So… I posted a comment on your A to Z Challenge 2013 reflections post, since I have no idea whether I reciprocated your comment that year. You'll see why if you read the other comment. Take care!
Wow! That's some time ago! I'll check it out.