Investigative Interviewing

Central Time (CT) Online	May 06, 2025	$595.00 + tax
Mountain Time (MT) Online	September 09, 2025	$595.00 + tax
Eastern Time (ET) Online	November 04, 2025	$595.00 + tax

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This course has been accredited by the LS of Ontario (LSO)

35 minutes Professionalism,

40 minutes Equality and Inclusion Professionalism

and LSBC for 6.50 hours of continuing professional development.

The program is accredited by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) for 6 hours.

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This is one day of a 5-day series of courses that covers the Fundamentals Of Investigation and How to Use the Internet as an Investigative Tool and How to Prepare for a Hearing, Adjudication or Trial. They are mix and match courses, with group and number of day discounts. You can check them out here.

The Course: Good investigators are usually good interviewers.

Getting information from people who have evidence relevant to whatever it is you are investigating is a very important part of most investigations. You have to know how to ask the right person, the right question, at the right time and in the right place.

Having the skills and techniques to conduct top-quality interviews is pretty much a necessity for most fact-finders, including those who conduct informal investigations.

This one-day course offers a structured approach to getting information from another human being, as effectively and efficiently as possible, with a focus on interviewing in any investigative context. We outline methodologies to ensure that you obtain all the information that any party has that is relevant to your investigation, including from reluctant and evasive witnesses.

We will cover how to identify who you need to speak to, decide whether or not an interview is necessary, the general principles that underpin every good interview, how to put the interviewee at ease, how to structure the interview itself and best practices in recording the interview.

The course is hands-on and interactive as possible, including group exercises and video footage of interviews done well – and not so well.

Participants are divided into small groups for each stage of the interview process. A scenario based on real-life cases will demonstrate how the interview comes together in the investigative process. The groups then brainstorm their ideas and develop solutions to the challenges that the scenario presents.

Who Should Attend?

Anyone who speaks to people to get information from them. That includes those involved in any kind of investigation or fact-finding, including:

• workplace / human resources
• regulatory / compliance
• lawyers/paralegals
• audits
• inspections
• law enforcement
• health and safety
• academia
• human rights
• values, ethics and conflict of interest
• oversight /inspection

and any other field of investigation. The course is a great introduction to interviewing for those new to conducting investigations, and an excellent refresher for the more experienced.

Syllabus:

• Introduction To Interviewing
• What qualities should a good interviewer have?
• The 3 Stages Of The Interviewing Process
  • Identify
  • Decide
  • Interview
• The 6 Principles Of Effective Interviewing
  A detailed discussion that covers preparation, building a rapport, thoroughness, objectivity, keeping control of the process and actively listening.
• Preparing For The Interview
  • Knowing the issues and the interviewee
  • To Google or not to Google? What is out there on the Internet, legally and ethically.
  • Questions or question areas
• Scenario
  The two-part scenario is based on a real-life workplace oriented investigation. In this case, someone died. Includes a video of what actually happened.
• Group Exercise 
  Groups prepare questions/ question areas base on the scenario
• Setting Up The Interview
  • Making contact
  • Choosing location
  • Confidentiality concerns
• Ethical Considerations
  • Integrity and fairness
  • How far do you go?
  • Tricks of the trade
  • How to avoid getting duped
• Types Of Interview
  • Face to face
  • Telephone
  • Email
  • Written Interrogatories
  • Skype
• How To Structure An Interview
  • The twelve stages of the actual interview
  • Do’s and don’ts, as the interview progresses
  • Gender, culture, language as factors to be considered in the investigating process, including when assessing credibility.
  • Embedding the principles of natural justice and procedural fairness throughout the interviewing process, including dealing with badgering, leading questions, (in)appropriate cross examination, giving individuals an opportunity to speak and listening to what they say.
• Group Exercise 
  Using the scenario, we will go through how an interview should unfold. Includes a role play, but only for those who want to get involved.
• Dealing with vulnerable witnesses                                                            Recognizing and dealing with the challenges created when interviewing potentially vulnerable witnesses such as juveniles, adults with special needs and others who may not have sophisticated knowledge or understanding of the interviewing process
• Recording Interviews
  • Best practices
  • How and why
• Interviewing Techniques
  • PEACE
  • Cognitive interviewing
  • Reid technique
• Assessing Credibility
  • Body language
  • Behavioural analysis
  • SCAN
• Common Roadblocks And How To Deal With Them
• Dealing with expert witnesses
• Common Mistakes Interviewers Make
• Assessing The Success Of An Interview
• Creating Interviewing Policies
• Wrap-up and Evaluations

Investigative Interviewing Outcomes

At the end of the course you will know how to conduct thorough and ethical interviews, as well as:

• Determine who you need to speak to and why
• Plan an interview
• Conduct an interview fairly, thoroughly and ethically
• Deal with common roadblocks
• Record interviews, using best practices

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The course will be delivered by Gareth Jones or Ian Scott.

Gareth Jones has over 30 years of investigative experience in the public and private sector. He has provided investigative training to numerous fact-finding agencies in Canada and internationally, including to UN organizations. Gareth’s bio is here.

Ian Scott is a former Crown Attorney and Director of the Ontario Special Investigations Unit. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Western Ontario.

Any questions? Interested in group discounts? Please call us at 416-704-3517 or contact us directly at: bjaworski@investigationstraining.com

Don’t forget to check out the Fundamentals of Investigation and  How to Use the Internet as an Investigative Tool courses. They are really great!