LOCARD'S THEORY REVISITED
Recently I wrote an article on Locard's Theory, which involves a theory on evidence transfer. The theory itself is sound, in my personal opinion. To recap, the theory is stated below:
"Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him. Not only his fingerprints or his footprints, but his hair, the fibers from his clothes, the glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or semen he deposits or collects. All of these and more, bear mute witness against him. This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can diminish its value."
- Professor Edmond Locard
I also mentioned how this theory can be useful in gaining a confession from a suspect that had been developed by a Defense Investigator, and/or Attorney. Here I will be brief; however there is much to be expounded upon here. Most of us that work in the Criminal Defense Arena have developed an interview style that we are comfortable with and that works for us, when we engage a subject in an interview. Some people are naturally better at interviewing people than others. But, we can all agree on one thing, for us the interview begins long before we ever ask the first question.
In the event that you have developed a suspect while working for your client in a criminal defense matter, you will most likely want to interview this suspect. In the process of your interview, if you find that the suspect has given you even greater cause to be suspicious as to whether or not this might be the person that actually committed the crime that you are assisting your client in the defense of; you certainly want to be prepared.
Locard's Theory gives us an extra "conversational tool" to use in a most casual way which can have a profound psychological impact on a suspect that is in fact the person that is guilty of committing the crime that we are assisting in the defense of. To me, it is of high value to have what I would call "casual conversation pieces" in my "interview arsenal", that can be used to give me an "edge" on the person I am interviewing without ever having to come out and be confrontational, or openly appear as if I don't trust the subject of my interview. When we combine these "casual conversation pieces" with good investigative research, and good communication skills; we become a very powerful force in the interview room.
As I mentioned earlier, for us the interview begins long before we ever ask the subject of the interview the first question. An Investigator that is good at interviewing subjects of an investigation has prepared for the interview before they ever even meet with the subject of their interview. They have researched the subject, they know as much as they possibly can about the subject, they have researched the crime, the crime scene, the victim, and any and all relationships associated with the crime and the subject of the interview; if any are to be found. Good photographs of the crime scene area, taken independently by the Private Investigator is an absolute must in my opinion. If there are any objects at the crime scene area that are noteworthy, and can be legally taken by the Private Investigator, it might not be a bad idea to do so.
As we can see, there is much to do in preparation for the interview. It is also important to try to control the place and the setting of the Interview. I have a comfortable "board room" setting in my satellite office for conducting interviews. I also have 3 different chairs that I use to seat the subject in, depending on how I want to set up the interview (as P.I.s we should all know about different things you can do with a chair to set different tones in the interview). I have different "themes" I can quickly set up in my interview room also, to further accent the interview in various ways. I have a television and a projector that I can use in my interview room also. I have taken the time to try to maximize my control over my interviews. This is where I start developing my strategy for the interview also.
Now that the interview is set up, I am ready to meet with my subject. Do you remember reading only a minute ago that i recommended gathering noteworthy objects from the crime scene area if you can legally take such objects? Props can be a wonderful thing. Many people are influenced by visual cues, even at a subconscious level people can be influenced to make decisions, feel a certain way, or recall events. It never hurts to give yourself all of the advantage that you can in your interview. Set your props up where they are highly visible to the subject of the interview, and where they appear to be "innocently displayed".
I like to try to gain a rapport with the person I am interviewing, I also like to try to make it appear that I trust what they are saying (the reality is that they are suspect until they prove otherwise). So, my first 10 to 15 minutes of the interview is used in simple, casual conversation, in which I am carefully observing my subject. Typically I will start off by trying to give the subject of the interview an understanding of what the interview consists of, and trying to make the subject feel comfortable about the interview process. Their are times however, when the subject's discomfort might work to my advantage, this is a determination that I make when I am developing my strategy for the interview. I want to know if they are under the influence of alcohol, and/or narcotics. I want to try to determine what level of intelligence I will be dealing with in this interview. If the person I am interviewing is naturally reserved and quiet, or open and has a desire to talk. I also want to pick up on their body language and see if I can spot any patterns in their body language. I put all of these observations in my interview report. At this point in time, before any of the questions are going to be asked, there is no need for me to advise the subject that they do not have to answer my questions, they can terminate the interview and walk out at any time, I have no power of arrest, I can not detain them under any circumstances whatsoever, and everything they tell me has to be voluntary and they have to fully understand that whatever they tell me may be viewed by a Judicial and/or Law Enforcement Official and they may be compelled to testify as to what they have told me. However, before any questioning begins, the subject of the interview is told this, asked to sign a form where all of this is explained and and gone over in great detail, and informed that they should not feel any reservation at all in asking me a question if they don't understand something.
The questioning phase of the interview is where you will either get that valuable piece of information, that confession, or be able to rule out your suspect. If the person you are interviewing is a suspect that you have developed, this is where you should have a clear strategy developed. Where the use of Locard's theory comes in at is if you decide that you want to take an approach that relies on using your knowledge of physical evidence to 'shake" your suspect. Imagine how powerful it can be to convince your suspect that no matter what the police say, or what he or she believes, there is physical evidence that will prove who actually committed the crime. this is where understanding how to explain Locard's Theory comes in handy. If you can articulate Locard's Theory in a convincing way, and use visual cues such as photographs and props to further your explanation of Locard's Theory, you have put yourself at a distinct psychological advantage over your suspect. At the point in which you know you have convinced your suspect that physical evidence exists to show who actually committed the crime, you should be watching your suspect carefully. You should be looking for any patterns you managed to spot earlier, body language, questions from the suspect about what may have been found that he or she is not aware of, and a change in attitude, and you should make a note on the precise time during the interview that this occurred. Many times subjects of interviews such as these have discontinued the interview and went straight from the interview to evidence that they had in their possession in an attempt to destroy it or hide it in a better "hiding place". This is why you may want to assign one of your Investigators or another Private Investigator that you have developed a good working relationship with to watch the suspect for a period of time after he or she leaves the interview, if this is at all possible.
It is amazing what power words can have over us. If the Private Investigator can master good communication skills, and understand how to properly set up an interview, he or she will almost always be able to get at the truth.
Ricky B. Gurley