From the original creators of "investigative interviewing"

Conducting interviews with suspects is difficult and the consequences of any errors can be catastrophic: the innocent can be convicted, the guilty exonerated.

In the last thirty years there have been major legislative changes and technological innovations that have had a profound effect on the way that police officers question suspects. Even the language of questioning has changed: police officers no longer interrogate suspects, instead, they conduct investigative interviews.

But what is investigative interviewing? Is it really better than interrogation? Can interviewing skills even be taught?

This course, The Science of Interviewing Suspects, introduces you to the core components of the PEACE model of investigative interviewing.

After taking the course students will be able to apply the core principles of the PEACE model in their own interviews, so they can that they can successfully advance their investigations. 

If you are a police officer, a trainer, or a member of a professional group that is involved in the interviewing of suspects, then this course is for you.

Drawing on our 30 years of experience in research and teaching, the course features engaged teaching and learning, with real-world content.

Course overview

  1. Science and pseudoscience in investigative interviewing
  2. Towards a science of interview practice and training
  3. Activity - The use of fake evidence
  4. Principles of investigative interviewing
  5. Introducing PEACE
  6. The PEACE model
  7. The five components of PEACE
  8. Evaluating PEACE – Types of evaluations
  9. Evaluating PEACE – Outcomes of evaluations
  10. Activity - The Jimmy Savile case


The course also includes ‘refresher’ content that defines question types (open-ended, specific-closed, forced-choice, multiple, and leading) and describes seventeen common interview ‘tactics’ (disclosure of evidence, minimization, silence, etc.).

All content is based on the latest scientific knowledge. Links to academic papers, reports and other sources are included.

Who is this course for?

  • Police officers

    Thnking about taking a course in the PEACE model? Then this is your ideal starter point.

  • Police trainers

    Police trainers teaching interviewing skills will find this course invaluable. It will give you the confidence to accurately teach the core components of the PEACE model, and to lead discussions of the controversies about the technique and its current evidence base.

  • Students of psychology, criminology & law

    If you are conducting research, or working on cases in which the technique was used, this course will give you the core knowledge you need to make accurate assessments of the efficacy of the Inbau and Reid technique.

Course cost:

Meet your instructor

Dr Stephen Moston

Stephen's groundbreaking work on interviewing children changed the way that child witnesses are questioned. His subsequent work with the Metropolitan Police included creating a new information-gathering approach to questioning suspects, which Stephen labelled "investigative interviewing". This approach would become the foundation for the PEACE technique which has been the basis for police training in many countries for over twenty-five years. Stephen has been teaching legal and forensic psychology in Australia since 1992. He has been Head of Postgraduate Training in Forensic Psychology at two Australian Universities.

What others are saying

Previous students have said:

Real life examples

Taylor

All the steps, all the evidence. Perfect

An eye-opener for sure

David

I have been using PEACE for years now but there was so much I didn't know. This was a great refresher of the core principles and a real eye-opener on the "science".

Time for a critical look at PEACE?

William

I've read up on PEACE, done the training and even written pieces on it. I thought I knew it all. Wrong! What's going on in training might be a real problem in the future. Let's not wait for the next crisis, how about we think seriously think about how and why we are using this.

FAQ

  • Forensii? Is that a typo?

    No, it's not a typo. Forensii combines all our favourite words - forensic, that's the "forens" part, and investigative interviewing, that's the "ii" part. Simple really. If you spot any other odd-looking words on our websites, those probably are typos. Sorry.

  • Can I get a refund if I’m not happy with the course?

    We have a 100% Money Back Guarantee. We believe in the high quality of our courses so much that if you are not 100% satisfied then you can cancel that purchase within 30 days of the purchase date to qualify for a refund of the full purchase price. Our one condition is that you should not have completed more than 33% of the course, or two modules (because if you really didn’t like the course you wouldn’t have completed more than that.

  • How do I pay?

    You can pay by credit card. We have a secure payment system powered by the leading online payment system: Stripe. If you need a payment plan, please contact us and we will help to set one up for you.

  • How long will it take to complete the course?

    It should take between 2 and 3 hours to complete the course, depending on how long you engage with some of the set ‘activities’.