Effective Interviewing Techniques—The Key to Quality Supervision
Interviewing: Theories, Techniques, and Practices. (Edition). By Robert A. Shearer. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 347 pp. (paper), $46.67.
REVIEWED BY TODD JERMSTAD
BELTON, TEXAS
It seems so axiomatic that effective interviewing in the criminal justice context is the key to quality supervision and programming that it is surprising that this subject is often discounted or ignored when discussing ways to improve the supervision of offenders or delivery of services. Perhaps because the topic of interviewing naturally entails examining the effectiveness of staff, thus shifting the focus from innovative programs, policy-makers, academicians, and practitioners in the field of criminal justice appear to overlook this essential component to deterring criminal behavior and rehabilitating offenders. However, in Interviewing: Theories, Techniques, and Practices, Dr. Robert A. Shearer, a professor at the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas rectifies this matter and draws attention to the need for competent interviewing in all facets of the criminal justice system.
Several matters should be noted at the onset of this review. First, as Dr. Shearer explains, his book is about interviewing and not interrogation. Second, the title clearly reflects that the subject matter is not just effective interviewing techniques, but also the theoretical basis for applying these techniques, along with useful exercises for the reader to reinforce what has been presented in the text. Finally, Dr. Shearer emphasizes that being a skillful interviewer is not an innate gift; one can gain a proficiency in interviewing through instruction and practice.
Dr. Shearer observes that whereas interrogation is a predominantly one-way process and is highly controlled by the questioner, an interview is a conversation between two people with a purpose. Moreover, there are several purposes to interviewing. One is to gather information, another is to detect deception; however, Dr. Shearer further states that an additional purpose is to establish trust between the parties. Finally, the author explains that he has written this book mainly for the criminal justice professional who has not necessarily had any formal or specialized training in the craft of interviewing but who encounters people as part of the person’s job. Thus police officers, correctional officers, probation and parole officers, counselors and social workers will all greatly benefit from reading this book.
This book consists of twelve chapters and a preface. The first three chapters introduce the reader to the basic concepts of interviewing in the criminal justice environment. Chapter four offers a detailed description of the model for interviewing that provides the basic framework for learning in this book. Then, chapters five through eleven focus on specific interviewing skills. Finally, chapter twelve draws together all of the skills and techniques discussed in the book and offers further insights on the future of interviewing. Each chapter ends with a summary, study questions, and assessments that enable the reader to perform a self-evaluation of his or her grasp of the concepts discussed in each chapter.
It should be noted that the emphasis in this book is on verbal communication. Thus, while the author recognizes that certain nonverbal communication, such as body language, is important in gathering and evaluating communicated information, it is the information garnered through oral exchanges that will advance the objectives of the interview. Moreover, Dr. Shearer stresses that the varying degree of motivation that an offender has for revealing information and certain cultural, psychological, or environmental barriers may require the utilization of different techniques to elicit the needed information. Finally, this book propounds that the objective of any interview in the criminal justice setting is not just to gather and process information but also to influence the behavior or actions of the offender being interviewed.
The late British poet Robert Graves once said, “Before one can break the rules of grammar, he must first learn to master them.” This statement, which was made to challenge aspiring avant garde poets to first learn the basics of good writing, can be applied to any endeavor that requires the acquisition of certain skills, techniques, and knowledge. Effective interviewing is no different. Although Dr. Shearer notes that there are any number of “exotic” interview techniques, ranging from hypnosis to nonverbal interviewing, nothing is more effective than learning the fundamentals of interviewing and applying the acquired skills and understanding in both an educational setting and in actual practice. Dr. Robert Shearer has succeeded in not just making the goals and principles of effective interviewing clear and comprehensible but also showing that effective interviewing is a competence that can be readily grasped by any diligent practitioner in the field of criminal justice.