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Introduction
A police interview is a formal conversation with an individual suspected of committing an offence. The purpose of any interview is to allow the police to gain evidence/ an account from the suspect but it it also to give the suspect an opportunity to give their account.
PEACE Model
hen interviewing we should follow the PEACE method to ensure that the interview is lawful and that we are getting the best evidence out of the interviewee as well as the fullest account.
PEACE
Preparation and Planning
Engage and Explain
Account
Conclusion
Evaluation
There are 2 ways in which an interview may be facilitated:
Voluntary attendance by the suspect - This is where the suspect attended a police station voluntarily at a specified time and on a specified date. If an officer wishes to invite someone to a voluntary interview then they should send the suspect a VA Letter or a MIsconduct interview letter. A suspect who is being interviewed voluntarily has the same rights as an individual who is being interviewed while under arrest.
Interview while under arrest - An individual may be interviewed at a police station while they’re under arrest.
Planning and Preparation
In this phase the officer should plan the interview and then start to prepare for it.
From there the officer should decide on what the aims and objectives of the interview are. Most of the time the objective will be to obtain a full account from the suspect with the aims relating specifically to the circumstances. These should be noted down on the interview plan along with the points to prove for any offence. They may also need to with draw any evidence required in the interview from the relevant case file.
Engage and Explain
This phase takes place at the beginning of the interview this is where the suspect is explained what is going to happen as well as certain things that they need to be asked/informed of under PACE:
The interview can be recorded either audio or video and a copy of this recording can be made available to the accused upon request;
At the start of the interview, the time date and location of the interview must be noted;
The interviewing officer and any other officers in the room must identify themselves;
The suspect must be identified;
The suspect must be informed why they are being interviewed and the allegation against them;
The suspect must be given the when questioned caution;
The suspect must be informed of their right to have a solicitor present;
They must be asked if they are happy with the solicitor or informed that they may request a solicitor at any point and the interview would be stopped if they request this until they have one.
The solicitor should introduce themselves as well as anyone else in the room.
The suspect needs to be informed that the interview is being recorded (If the interview is being recorded)
A small summary of the interview is to be added to the incident report on the PNC or the recording added
In cases of misconduct only interview the when questioned caution should be substituted for:
Whilst you do not have to say anything it may harm your case if you do not mention when interviewed or when providing any information something later relied on in any disciplinary proceedings Anything you do say may be used in evidence.
Account
The account section of the interview is where the interviewer can put questions to an individual and the individual who was being interviewed will also have the chance to give their account. One of the best practices to do this is to use the free recall model as seen below:
To start with the interviewer should give the suspect an opportunity to give a full account of what has happened, based on this account or lack of the interviewer should ask questions around specific topics such as the points to prove for an offence or specific details of an allegation then work through each of these topics giving the suspect a chance to give their account, using probing questions to get more detail where needed, clarifying and challenging points and then summarising before moving to the next topic. Note, If an interviewer has planned the interview well then they should already have a list of topics to cover. Once all the topics have been covered the interview can move on to the next stage.
Closure
In the closure section of the interview the Interviewer should sum up the account of the suspect giving them chance to correct any inaccuracies in the summary before ending the interview.
Evaluation
In the evaluation phase the interviewer should look back at the interview and look at what they have learned from the account, whether are there any additional lines of enquiry and did they achieve their aims and objectives. The interviewer should also look at what they did well and what they did not so well so they can improve for next time.
Solicitors
Prior to interview
A suspect has the right to have legal representation during any interview. if a suspect has elected to have a solicitor present they MUST not be questioned prior to their solicitors arrival and prior to the interview the solicitor must be given sufficient information to understand the nature of the offence/s the suspect is to be interviewed about.
Disclosure of Evidence
Disclose of evidence to a solicitor is not mandatory and is at the officers discression however it is strongly advised that information is disclosed to allow the solicitor to advise their client accurately especially if that evidence is damming.
During an Interview
During an interview a solicitor may:
Offer advice to their client;
Read and pre prepared statements
Challenge the police where it appears there has been a breach to the suspects rights
Solicitors may not
object to questions posed by the interviewing officers
answer questions on behalf of the suspect
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