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In order to understand the artist, you have to look at the artwork. It's the same thing with killers-you really have to study the crime. You have to look at how it was done and then you can begin to understand why. In the past, authorities made decisions about sentencing, treatment, parole, and probation without really knowing the motivation behind the crime. Today, there is more of an effort to try to gain insight into the minds of killers, rapists, and other criminals.
Before you sit across a table from either a convicted or suspected killer, you need to do your homework. You have to study the crime scene and autopsy photos of the victims and read the police reports. And you have to complete the victimology-an analysis of the subject. Being familiar with all this information will help convey to the offender the idea that you are interested in him. And from that, he may also come to believe that you're showing him respect-an initial objective in establishing rapport.
Building Rapport is the Key
As with any interview, developing rapport is the key. An investigator builds rapport by understanding the killer's world. Conveying respect for a murderer means setting aside your personal feelings about the nature of the crimes committed. You may have to sit there joking around with someone who preys on little children or tortures his victims in unspeakable ways. But it's worth it if you come away from an interview with firsthand information about the killer's values, beliefs, and thinking patterns, not to mention an admission of responsibility for the crimes. And it moves things along more quickly. When the interviewer shows respect for die killer, the subject spends less time evaluating the person who is trying to crawl inside his mind.
Across the Table From Murderers
During a study conducted for the FBI, some colleagues and I interviewed killers whose crimes were sexual in nature. These offenders were already convicted and behind bars, but we believe the same techniques we used for this study are beneficial in interviewing suspects during the process of trying to apprehend a killer. The questions we asked centered on four phases of the murder: the pre-crime phase, the actual crime, disposal of the body,...