INVESTIGATIVE POLICE POWER

The Philippine National Police (PNP) as the primary police force

in the country are vested with the power to effect investigation of
cases as a result of crime commission . Police power is necessary
as it is one of the regulatory means of the government to control,
maintain, and ensure that the conduct of its people is within is
within the bounds of the law.

Investigative police power – is defined as the capacity of the police

to initiate investigation of cases which violated the law.
It is a mandatory obligation of the police to conduct an
investigation as it is one of their primary functions. While the state
provides the police with the power to conduct investigation of
cases; however, this also constraints their capability and lengthen
the time to f in ish investigating certain case as the state also
recognizes and protects the fundamental rights of every person
subjected to investigation and maintain the principle of presumption of
innocence.

Presumption of Innocence is based on the principle that every person

subjected to a criminal case is deemed considered innocent unless
proven to be guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
Beyond reasonable doubt is a principle which states that a person is
guilty based on moral certainty.
Moral certainty in a sense that a person is proven guilty based on how
the court appreciated the evidence presented during trial which
produces a conviction.
Conviction on the other hand is a judgement rendered by the trail court
that the accused person is guilty of the crime charge against him.
 As the law provides the objective of criminal investigation, it is also
the one that dictates and control their conduct. Objective as used in
this text refers to the direction and end-purpose of criminal
investigation needed to solve the case.

Substantive and Procedural Criminal Investigation

Substantive Criminal Investigation refers to the knowledge, nature and
implication of the different crimes that investigator should know and
possess. It must be noted that the elements of every crime should be
considered as they will give guide to investigators regarding the proper
charge that should be brought before the prosecution office.
 Procedural Criminal Investigation – refers to the knowledge
regarding the rules on how pieces of physical evidence should be
processed in order to maintain its integrity during the presentation
and be given credit by the trial court. Take note physical evidence
refers to any material or substance which is found in the crime scene
and has a logical connection to the offense charged and which aids
the investigator in solving the case. Crime Scene – is simply the area
where the crime took place and where all pieces of physical evidence
were gathered and collected.
INTERVIEW AND INTERROGATION

INTRODUCTION:

Interview and verbal interrogation are one and the same

creatures in interrogation. Both are oral medium and, therefore,
unwritten. Both are preliminary inquiries that may ripen to
written interrogation. Both have common thrust and purpose,
“to determine whether the witness is credible or incompetent,
or whether one is purveyor of truth or peddler of lies. In
essence, it serves as f iltering phase to separate the gold from
the baser metal. Now it can be said with certitude that the
word interview is a misnomer.
 Written interrogation is but salutary effect of verbal
interrogation. It would be a fatal error to make a written
interrogation without preliminary verbal interrogation. For
verbal interrogation, as a tool of the investigator, is merely
laying the predicate before written interrogation. These
two are integral parts of what is commonly denominated
as interrogation.
INTERVIEW

Interview – it a simple inquiry/conversation-type

elicitation of information from a willing
victim (s)/ witness(es) relevant to a certain
crime/incident/event under investigation.
Probably the most demanding and least mechanical
p hase o f i nv e sti g ati v e wo rk i s the i nte rv i e w and
interrogation. It is also one of the most critical, for the
m o st e f f e c ti v e ne ss o f an i nv e sti g ato r i s l arg e l y
proportional to the skills in eliciting information from the
witnesses, informants, complainants and suspects.
 Although, circumstantial, physical evidence alone may
be suf fic ient to convict the accused, more often the
testimony of witnesses is required. If the investigator
cannot get all the material facts from these persons at
the outset of the investigation, it can mean the difference
between solution and frustration. And if he can persuade
the suspect to admit his culpability and then plead guilty,
considerable time and expenses are saved.
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES IN CONDUCTING INTERVIEW\
AS PART OF CRIME INVESTIGATION.

1) An INTERVIEW is the questioning of a person believed to

possess knowledge that is of official interest to the public safety
investigator.
2) It is being important as the person being interviewed usually
give his ACCOUNT of an incident under investigation or offers
information concerning person being investigated in his own
words, manner and volition.
3) The BASIC ASSUMPTION is nobody has to talk to him if he
does not want to. Therefore, the person being interviewed will
have to be persuaded always within the purview of legal and
ethical limits, to talk to said public safety officers.
4) This makes INTERVIEW as an art. You have our own style of
interviewing a person. However, you must consider the following;
> ability to narrate;
> His mental weakness because of stupidity or infancy or other
related factors;
> His moral weakness because of drunkenness (drug
addiction, his being pathological liar or similar factors);
and
> Emotional weakness springing from such sources as family
problems, hatred, shock, revenge, and even love or
sympathy.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF INTEREVIEW

“ Never conduct or let anyone an interview if the interviewer has not

gone to the crime scene. The questioning should be in agreement
with the facts and conditions at the crime scene. The questioning will
lead wayward for the interviewer who had not seen personally he
crime seen and he will not be in a position to distinguish half-truths,
exaggerations or falsehood from the answers of the person being
interviewed”.

INTERVIEW FORMAT
The interview of a witness can be described by the acronym “IRONIC”
– which stands for ‘IDENTITY, RAPPORT, OPENING STATEMENT,
NARRATION, INQUIRY AND CONCLUSION”.
“ IDENTITY: Prior to commencing interview, the investigator should
identify himself to the witness by name, rank and agency. The
investigator’s of fic ial authority to make the authority is thereby
established and witness cooperation is probably increased – since
most of the persons’ respond positively to f igures of authority. The
witness also obtains names of a person to contact in the future , if
necessary.

RAPPORT. Upon making contact with the witness, the investigator

must seek to establish rapport with him - since a good interpersonal
relationship maximize the ability to extract information. The af fin ity
may be established by presenting a good appearance, to be a cordial
and understanding attitude and by otherwise allying the witness fears.
In some case, small talk may be necessary in order to calm the witness.
 A good rapport is important when dealing with persons who are
contacted on regular basis - such as license clerks, court personnel,
telephone company employees or law enforcement personnel.
The salesmanship of the investigator is crucial to a good witness-
investigator relationship. Reluctance and even hostilities can be
overcome if the officer establishes a food relationship with the witness.
OPENING STATEMENT. At some in interview, the investigator will need
to indicate why witness is being contacted. But in some situations, the
reasons for inquiry will be obvious – as where the victim teller in a bank
robbery is interviewed. However, the witness should be told no more
about the reason for contact than fairness requires.
NARRATION. As a rule, the investigator should allow the witness to
present whatever information he possess as a narrative in his own
words. The of fic er should refrain from injecting questions or
comments until the witness has f inished his history. Interruptions
should be made only to keep the witness on tract and eliminate non-
pertinent information.

INQUIRY. Once the witness has told the his initial story, the investigator
may then ask specif ic questions to f il l in omitted acts, clarify
ambiguous statements, verify names, dates and other details and
insure that all pertinent information has been extracted.
 Just as entries in a notepad, it should contain WHO, WHAT, WHEN,
WHERE, WHY AND HOW of various topics, the interviewing of fic er
should be sure that the same “5Ws and 1H” are covered with respect to
information which the witness may have.
In accomplishing this task, the investigating of fic er should avoid
leading and misleading or suggestive questions. Specif ic inquiries
generally should require elaboration on a point rather than a mere “YES”
or “NO” response.
CONCLUSION. The interview should be concluded when it becomes
apparent that the witness has nothing pertinent left to offer. At that
time, the of ficer should orally summarize the witness statement. This
gives the witness an opportunity to correct erroneous information and
add other facts which he then recall. At this stage, the investigator
should also insure that he has the correct name and address of the
witness in the event that further contact is needed. Finally, the witness
should be thanked for his aid.
General kinds of Interview

1 . Cognitive Interview – this is conducted to a willing and cooperative

witnesses, where they are given the full opportunity to narrate their accounts
without intervention, interruption and interference from the interviewer. After
the subject f inished his/her narration, the investigator now subjects him/her to
the style or direct examination and cross- e x a m i n a t i o n , t o c l a r i f y t h e
unexplained portions to arrive at a vivid and complete picture of the testimony.

2. Question and Answer - The interview as practiced by some investigators

required the interviewee to answer the questions posed by the investigator.
The interviewee is required to answer on what he he/she knows about what is
being asked. In the case of subjects low intelligence , the use of leading
question greatly helps the investigator to obtain the full and desired information
(Garcia, 2004).
Qualities of a good interviewer:
1. Rapport – it refers to the good relation between the interviewer and the
interviewee, which is conducive to a fruitful result. It is winning the confidence of
a person being interviewed in order that he will tell all the information in his/her
possession. The interviewer must be in a respectable civilian attire because,
most often and the majority of people, the police uniforms is barrier in
establishing good rapport. To many, the uniform is intimidating.
2. Forceful personality - The appearance of the interviewer and the other
qualities such as skills of communication techniques or the force of language are
the mainstays of the strength of his character. He/she must be understanding,
sympathetic and without showing official arrogance, vulgarity of expressions and
air superiority.
3.Knowledge on psychology and psychiatry- this will help the interviewer
determine the personality and intelligence of the subject; he/she must go down
and up to the level of understanding of his/her particular subject.
Qualities of a good interviewer continued:

4. Conversational tone of voice. Investigator’s tone of voice must be

conversational , not confrontational as in interrogation. It means that the
interviewer must know how to appropriately use his/her voice normally, without
unusual loudness that may affect the interview process.
5. Acting qualities – He/she must possess the qualities of an actor, salesman
and psychologist and know how to use the power of persuasion. This is done to
convince the person to disclose what he/she knowns about the issue being
investigated.
6. Humility – He/she must be courteous,, sympathetic and humble, ready to ask
apologies for the inconvenience of the interview. This is usually done at the end
of interview that may given a good impression to the person being interviewed.
Phases of Interview:
1. Preparation – investigator must review the facts at the crime scene and
information from other sources in order that he/she would be ready for the
questioning.
2. Approach – This is done through investigator’s careful selection of the kind of
approach to use, which maybe a single kind, a combination of two or the
application of all techniques.
3. Warming up – This is done by preliminary or exploratory questions to clear the
atmosphere or promote a conducive place for cordiality, respect and trust for
each other.
4. Cognitive interview – This is performed by allowing or already asking the subject
to narrate his/her account without interruption, intervention or interference. It is
only after the completion of the uninterrupted narration that the investigator
begins the direct and cross examination.

Rules in Questioning:
1. One Question at a time.
2. Avoid implied answer. The answer must be oral, clear, explicit and responsive to
the question.
3. Simplicity of question. A short simple question at a time is required.
4. Saving face. Embarrassing questions on the subject on matters of exaggeration or
honest errors about time , distance and description can be avoided if the investigator will
cooperate with the subject “to save his face”. The investigator should not fault or ridicule
the subject on these matters.

5. Yes and no answer – Do not ask questions which could be answered by yes or
no only. It will curtail the complete flow of information and will lead to inaccuracy.

INTERROGATION
Interrogation – is the vigorous and confrontational questioning of a reluctant
suspect about his/her participation in the commission of crime. It is
confrontational in the sense that the investigator places the guilt on the suspect.
This process can also be applied to an uncooperative and recalcitrant
suspect/witness
Interrogation is one of the most difficult but most interesting phases of
criminal investigation and detection. It is the challenging battle of wit between
the investigator and the suspect. It is a mental combat where the weapon is
intelligence and the use of the art. Victory depends upon proper and effective
use of art.
Witnesses or victims are interviewed, while suspects are interrogated.
PURPOSE OF INTERROGATION
1) To obtain information concerning the innocence or guilt of a suspect;
2) To obtain confession to the crime from the guilty suspect;
3) To induce/encourage the suspect to make admission;
4) To know the surroundings and circumstances of a crime;
5) To learn of the existence and location of physical evidence, such as documents
or weapons;
6) To learn and know the identity of accomplices and accessories;
7) To develop information which will lead to the fruits of the crime;
8) To develop additional leads for the investigation; and
9) To discover the details of any other crime in which the suspect participated in
the past.
THE GOLDEN RULE OF INTERROGATION:
“Make him admit something, no matter how small or trivial. Usually the first admission
will lead to another. In securing the first admission is the biggest stumbling block in dealing
with tough suspects”.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR INTERROGATION:

1) Voluntariness. Unlike in interview of a witness, the statement of a person being
interrogated must have been made voluntarily and must not be the product of threat,
fear, fraud, coercion and other improper tactics;
2) This rule applies to using the statements against the party and trial (confession) and to
using the statement as basis for discovering other evidence (affidavit for a search
warrant).
3) The voluntariness requirement stems from the 1987 Constitution (Art. III, Section 12 (1)
Miranda Warning).
4. Jurisprudence dictates the correct procedure to be followed by the police investigators in
making arrest and conducting custodial investigation. At the time a person is arrested, it
shall be the duty of the arresting officer to;’

> Identify himself

> Inform him of the reason for the arrest and he must be shown the warrant of arrest, if any;
and
> he shall be informed of his Constitutional rights.

FUNDAMENTAL CLASSIFICATION OF CASES

Cases in crime investigation are fundamentally classified into “HOT” and “COLD”. The distinction is
important in interviewing witnesses and interrogating suspects.
1) A “HOT CASE” - is one where the violation of law or regulation has just been unearthed or
discovered and the suspects and the witnesses to the case are still emotionally affected, upset or
involved.
2. A “COLD CASE” - is a dormant case where the witnesses and the suspects have had the luxury or
ample time to mull over the ramification of the case and to put up their respective alibi or defenses or
other forms of subjective impression of the case. It is useful to bear this distinction in mind so that in
“Hot Case”, an investigator should lose no time in taking the statement.
ATTITUDE AND CONDUCT OF THE INTERROGATOR
1) Avoid creating impression that you are an investigator seeking a confession or
conviction. It is better to appear in the role of one who is merely seeking the truth;
2) Keep pencil and paper out of sight during the interrogation. It is better therefore to
avoid notetaking or at least postpone it until the later stage of interrogation. However,
if the subject mention the names or address that the investigator wants to be sure to
remember, he can take a pencil and paper out to note the information, and
3) Such realistic words or expressions as “embezzle” and “confess your crime” should not
be used by the investigator. It is much more desirable from psychological standpoint to
employ milder terminology like “take” and “tell the truth”.

PRIVACY:
The principal psychological factor contributing to a successful interrogation is
PRIVACY – being alone with the person under interrogation. This we all seem to
instinctively realize in his own private or social affair but interrogation I isa generally
overlooked or ignored. Interrogator generally seem to lose sight of the fact that a
suspect or witness is much more apt to reveal his secrets in the privacy of of a
room only by himself and the interrogator than in the presence of other persons.
SAFEGUARD WHEN QUESTIONING A WOMAN
When a woman or a young girl is being interviewed, it is wise to have a third person,
preferably another woman present. Such third person does not enter into the interview but
is merely present as an observer to preclude any unjust accusation against the interrogator.

SAFEGUARD WHEN QUESTIONING A HOSTILE WITNESS

A hostile witness or suspect should not be questioned in his own home
or in surroundings familiar to him where he feel secure and is more apt to
take a defiant attitude. There is also a possibility recording devices maybe
hidden on these premises.
 GENERAL SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE INTERROGATION
OF A CRIMINAL/SUSPECT.

1) Interview the victim, the accuser, of the discoverer of the crime before
interrogating the suspect.
2) Be patient and persistent. Never conclude an interrogation at a time when you feel
discouraged and ready to give up; continue for a little while longer
3) Make no promise when asked “What will happen to me if I tell you the truth”.
4) View with skepticism the so-called conscience-stricken confession.
5) When a subject has made repeated denials of guilt to previous investigators, first –
question him whenever circumstances permit about some other unrelated offense of
similar nature of which he is also considered to be guilty; and
6) An unintelligent or uneducated suspect with low cultural background should be
interrogated on a psychological level comparable to that usually employed in the
questioning of a child.
Techniques of Interrogation:
1. Emotional Appeal . This is applicable to first time offenders or those
who are the emotional type of characteristics displayed by nervousness
or emotional disturbances.
2. Sympathetic Approach. The investigator , in his/her preliminary or
probing questions must dig deep into the past troubles, plight and
unfortunate events in the life of the suspect. An offer of help, or kindness,
friendliness, may win his cooperation.
3. Friendliness. A friendly approach coupled with a posture of sincerity
may induce the suspect to confess.
4. Trick and bluff techniques:
a. Pretense of solid evidence. The investigator bluffs the suspect that
even if he/she will not confess, there is enough evidence to send
him/her to jail. If confession is made, the investigator will see to it
that his/her prison term will be within the range of probation.
b. Weakest link. Among the suspects, there must be a careful selection
of who among them is the weakest link where the interrogation will
begin. By tricks and bluff, the weakest link will be told that his/her
companions had already confessed and that this weakest link had
dealt the fatal blow or that he received the lion share if the loot in
order to intrigue him.
 c. Drama - the weakest link maybe used to fake pain and agony by ordering
him/her to shout, accompanied by banging a chair on the wall to make it
appear that a commotion is going on. The other suspect in a separate room
must hear the drama before telling them that their partner has confessed.
d. Feigning contact with family members - the suspect could be tricked that
the investigator had gone to the residence and the family members had
supplied facts against the suspects. The suspect’s family will be dragged
into the investigation if the suspect will not confess.
e. Line up. The complainant witness or victim is requested to point positively
to the suspect in the police line-up. The witnesses’ victims or complainant
are previously coached about the identify of the suspect.
f. Reverse line-up. The suspect is placed among other persons in a line up
and he/she identified by several complainants and witnesses who will
associate the suspect in other several crimes. This will cause the suspect
to become desperate and confess only to the case under investigation, to
avoid from being charged on false accusations.

.
g. Stern Approach – the investigator displays a stern personality toward towards
the suspects by using the following methods;
1. Jolting. In the questioning process, he investigator selects the right
moment to shout a pertinent question in an apparent righteous outrage .
The suspect nerves will break to a confession.

2. Opportunity to Lie
The suspect is given all the opportunities to lie. He/she is questioned about
his/her personal life, family, friends, and his/her knowledge about the
complainant and witnesses. Then, questioned about his/her activity
prior , during and after the commission of the crime. This is repeated many
times to include the investigator focusing questions about the knowledge of
the suspect of the crime. The suspect will be enmeshed in contradiction,
which is now capitalized by the investigator to get the truth from the suspect
from the suspect. If possible, the interrogation must be taped recorded for
purposes of emphasis during the confrontation of he contradiction.
5. Rationalization.
Is the use of reasons which is acceptable to the subject that led to the commission of
crime. Thus, it maybe said that sometimes, killing is necessity rather than by purpose or
design. Robbery maybe necessity a feed a starving family. The application of this
technique depends upon the nature of the crime.

6. Projection.
It is the process of putting the blame to other persons, not alone to the
suspect. The murderer may blame the mastermind for corrupting him/her with big
sum of money or the mastermind blaming the greediness of the victim or the
husband blaming the wife for her infidelity. Or that it is a necessary evil as the
victim is planning to kill the suspect.

7. Minimization. Is the act of minimizing the culpability of the suspect. The

investigator convinces the suspect that a confession will reduce the offense and
the penalty. The investigator could study it if there is a way to downgrade murder
to homicide or the introduction of mitigating circumstances with the result of the
penalty being within the range of probation.
Thank you!
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