Applied Cognitive Psychology, Appl. Cognit. Psychol. 28: 815–816 (2014) Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/acp.3093
Information Gathering in Law Enforcement and Intelligence Settings: Advancing Theory and Practice PÄR ANDERS GRANHAG1*, ALDERT VRIJ2 and CHRISTIAN A. MEISSNER3 1
University of Gothenburg, Sweden University of Portsmouth, UK 3 Iowa State University, USA 2
The gathering of human intelligence (HUMINT) occurs across the globe 24/7. In the wake of terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid, and London, and the increased threat of terror worldwide, the need for effective HUMINT techniques is more critical than ever (Brandon, 2011; Loftus, 2011). Some of these interactions may require little in terms of tactical reasoning, whereas other interactions may require advanced strategic considerations and elaborate tactical skills. In light of this it is rather remarkable that such little research has been conducted on how such interactions are conducted and the comparative effectiveness of different HUMINT gathering techniques. This special issue will begin to remedy this serious gap in the research literature. While the general body of literature underpinning the field of legal psychology continues to show a steady expansion, it remains silent with respect to techniques aimed at eliciting human intelligence. The existing literature—including research on memory-enhancing techniques (e.g. Fisher & Geiselman, 1992), confessions (e.g. Lassiter & Meissner, 2010), and deception detection (e.g. Granhag & Strömwall, 2004; Vrij, 2008)—address vital elements in the overall intelligence gathering process, but there is very little research that informs on how intelligence interviews are conducted today and how such interviews could be improved. Turning to the literature on human intelligence, there are writings on the recruitment of informants (e.g. Fitzgerald, 2007), ethics and informants (e.g. Andrew, Aldrich, & Wark, 2009), and analyzing intelligence (e.g. George & Bruce, 2008). But the literature on ‘intelligence interviewing’ is very slim. This is noteworthy considering the prominent role of human intelligence collection operations in historical terms, and even more so given the renewed interest of intelligence collection in the period following 9/11 (Brandon, 2011). Although operational experiences have given rise to a wide array of techniques and procedures within the HUMINT domain, these methods have rarely been subjected to scientific evaluation. On a more positive note, researchers and practitioners from the intelligence field have begun to acknowledge this gap and advocate for a more comprehensive future research agenda (e.g. Evans, Meissner, Brandon, Russano, & Kleinman, 2010; Loftus, 2011). We believe that the papers in this special issue add positively to such an agenda. The Special issue contains 12 papers, and we are proud to have received contributions from North America, Europe and Australia. A closer look at the papers reveal that they cover *Correspondence to: Pär Anders Granhag, University of Gothenburg, USA. E-mail:
[email protected]
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
(a) experienced interrogators’ (and analysts’ and interpreters’) views regarding their own practices (Redlich, Kelly, & Miller, 2014; Russano, Narchet, & Kleinman, 2014; Russano, Narchet, Kleinman, & Meissner 2014), (b) empirical tests and systematic field observations of different interview approaches and tactics promoting the elicitation of human intelligence (Evans et al., 2014; Luke, Dawson, Hartwig, & Granhag, 2014; Goodman-Delahunty, Martschuk, & Dhami, 2014; Oleszkiewicz, Granhag, & Kleinman, 2014; Shaw et al., 2014; Vrij, Mann, Jundi, Hillman, & Hope, 2014), (c) memory enhancing techniques to assist sources who are willing to share information (Leins, Fisher, Pludwinski, Rivard, & Robertson, 2014; Rivard, Fisher, Robertson, & Hirn Mueller, 2014), and (d) an overview of current research on techniques for interviewing to elicit information and assess credibility (Vrij & Granhag, 2014). We would like to thank all of the external reviewers who took on their task in such a serious manner—your efforts pushed the issue in the right direction. Finally, we would like to thank Mark Fallon, Susan Brandon, and Majeed Khader for offering such encouraging and insightful comments on the issue. REFERENCES Andrew, C., Aldrich, R. J., & Wark, K. W. (2009). Secret intelligence: A reader. New York: Routledge. Brandon, S. (2011). Impacts of psychological science on national security agencies post-9/11. American Psychologist, 66, 495–506. doi: 10.1037/ a0024818 Evans, J. R., Houston, K. A., Meissner, C. A., Boss, A. B., Labianca, J. R., Woestehoff, S. A., & Kleinman, S. M. (2014). An empirical evaluation of intelligence-gathering interrogation techniques from the United States Army Field Manual. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3065 Evans, J. R., Meissner, C. A., Brandon, S. E., Russano, M. B., & Kleinman, S. M. (2010). Criminal versus HUMINT interrogations: The importance of psychological science to improving interrogative practice. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 38, 215–249. Fisher, R. P., & Geiselman, R. E. (1992). Memory-enhancing techniques for investigative interviewing. The cognitive interview. Springfield, MA: Charles Thomas. Fitzgerald, D. G. (2007). Informants and undercover investigations. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. George, R. Z., & Bruce, J. B. (2008). Analyzing intelligence: Origins, obstacles & innovations. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. Goodman-Delahunty, J., Martschuk, N., Dhami, M. (2014). Interviewing high-value detainees: Security cooperation and reliable disclosures. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp.3087 Granhag, P. A., & Strömwall, L. A. (2004). The detection of deception in forensic contexts. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lassiter, G. D., & Meissner, C. A. (2010). Police interrogations and false confessions. Current research, practice and police recommendations. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
816
P. A. Granhag et al.
Leins, D. A., Fisher, R. P., Pludwinski, L., Rivard, J. R., & Robertson, B. (2014). Interview protocols to facilitate human intelligence sources’ recollections of meetings. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3041 Loftus, E. F. (2011). Intelligence gathering post-9/11. American Psychologist, 66, 532–541. doi: 10.1037/a0024614 Luke, T. J., Dawson, E., Hartwig, M., & Granhag, P. A. (2014). How awareness of possible evidence induces forthcoming counter-interrogation strategies. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3019 Oleszkiewicz, S., Granhag, P. A., & Kleinman, S. M. (2014). On eliciting intelligence from human sources: Contextualizing the Scharfftechnique. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3073 Redlich, A. D., Kelly, C. E., & Miller, J. C. (2014). The who, what, and why of human intelligence gathering: Self-reported measures of interrogation methods. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3040 Rivard, J. R., Fisher, R. P., Robertson, B., & Hirn Mueller, D. (2014). Testing the Cognitive Interview with professional interviewers: Enhancing recall of specific details of recurring events. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3026
Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Russano, M. B., Narchet, F. M., & Kleinman, S. M. (2014). Analysts, interpreters, and intelligence interrogations: perceptions and insights. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp.3070 Russano, M. B., Narchet, F. M., Kleinman, S. M., & Meissner, C. M. (2014). Structured interviews of experienced HUMINT interrogators. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp.3069 Shaw, D. J., Vrij, A., Leal, S., Mann, S., Hillman, J., Granhag, P. A., & Fisher, R. (2014). “We’ll take it from here”: The effect of changing interviewers in information gathering interviews. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3072 Vrij, A. (2008). Detecting lies and deceit: Pitfalls and opportunities (2nd ed.). Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Vrij, A., & Granhag, P. A. (2014). Eliciting information and detecting lies in intelligence interviewing: An overview of recent research. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3071 Vrij, A., Mann, S., Jundi, S., Hillman, J., & Hope, L. (2014). Detection of concealment in an information-gathering interview. Applied Cognitive Psychology. doi: 10.1002/acp3051
Appl. Cognit. Psychol. 28: 815–816 (2014)
