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Development of the admission

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Developing an admission from a suspect is sometimes as simple as asking the investigative questions who, what, where, when, how and why. However, in other situations the subject is resistant to giving information covering the incident under investigation or other people's involvement.

The investigator must recognize the possible scope that the subject's admissions may take. Generally, what is known is only a fraction of what the individual could be responsible for doing. Most subjects are not caught the very first time they participate in a criminal act, but rather, have created a pattern of behavior that leads to their discovery.

The development process is more effective when the investigator assumes there are other acts of wrongdoing being concealed. This creates two advantages for the investigator. First, it minimizes the seriousness of what has been done because the investigator assumes that there are multiple incidents in which the subject participated. For some subjects it is then easier to maintain their innocence to other similar conduct, while admitting only to the single incident, or it allows the subject to save face by admitting to those multiple incidents he believes are already known.

Second, a subject believing the investigator knows of the other incidents makes a more complete admission giving the details of his involvement to the multiple issues. Certain crimes lend themselves to only a single incident, such as homicide. It would be rare, however, if there were not related situations of verbal and physical abuse that preceded the actual homicide. Discovery of these incidents might prove significant in the prosecution of the homicide.

Recent research illustrates the potential possibilities for expansion of the admission. The use of the polygraph to supervise sexual predators and child molester has opened development doors never before considered. The level of offending admitted by the convicted sex offender extends beyond the child to sexual offenses against adults. While less serious, we have observed similar behavior in theft and embezzlement cases. The employee who steals cash almost always takes merchandise as well. The embezzler also involves himself in multiple schemes to defraud the employer, when he becomes dissatisfied with the amount of money he is able to steal from the original fraud. Many times the secondary schemes are uncovered only as a result of the admission made by the subject.

There is always the possibility that there is only a single incident in which the subject is involved, however the investigator who makes this assumption prior to the confrontation likely limits any admission to that which is known prior to the interrogation.

The final reply to the suspect is the best because it gives the suspect no additional information, while offering a reason for not revealing the evidence that benefits the suspect. The investigator can establish the suspect's truthfulness and put him in a positive light by showing his cooperation and by inference that other things the suspect might say are true as well.




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