All posts by Dave Thompson CFI

Whose Side Are You On?

Change.  A scary word, and a difficult concept to grasp for many.  Scarier and more troubling are the following reactions we often hear to a suggestion of change: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” “But that’s the way we’ve always done it” “I’ve been doing this for (X) amount of years” I’m sure we have all heard some of the above, and probably have even caught ourselves saying...

Ready to Interrogate? Don’t Bet On It!

You flop the straight flush and the player before you raises into you. You hide your reaction attempting to contain your excitement about your pending payday as it is almost as sure a bet as the sun rising in the morning.  As the play continues and your anticipated winnings lay scattered in the middle of the table, you see the turn card and then the river and realize you’re...

He Said. She Said. Now What?

The daunting task of investigating a harassment claim is one that is faced by many human resources and employee relations professionals on a daily basis.  The difficulties with these types of investigations are countless and include the lack of evidence, reliance on hearsay and emotional impact on all of those involved.  However, as highlighted by the former Fox News Anchor Gretchen Carlson in her interview with Amy Robach on...

Tools of the Trade: Mastering Each Method

When it comes to home improvement or fixing a car we all are well aware that multiple tools are needed to get the job done efficiently and effectively.  Using the wrong tool may delay the process or result in even further damage.  This same rule applies to interviewing methods, an important toolbox for any investigator.  It is essential that investigators are aware there are many tools at their disposal...

Past, Present and Future

I Did It?! Why Innocent People Confess

It is hard to imagine why someone would confess to something they didn’t do. To voluntarily provide information that results in incarceration, embarrassment, loss of employment, restitution or loss of freedom seems unfathomable. However, not only are there several cases of this actually occurring but it continues to happen throughout the widespread field of interrogations. Most confessions provided by a guilty subject include their rationalization for their actions as...

The Making a Murderer Effect

Interrogation methods used improperly can cause a multitude of issues including involuntary or false confessions and make it increasingly difficult to identify the truth or obtain reliable information in an investigation.  This topic has been widely discussed in the recent months due to the popular Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” in regard to the interrogations of Brendan Dassey. Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, the Juvenile Law Center and University of Virginia...

5 Tips for Surviving the Holidays

The Holiday Season is quickly approaching which means early mornings, late nights, and sometimes unpleasant customers for the retail professionals out there on the front lines.  This can be a stressful yet profitable time for the retail industry and, unfortunately, a season that can cause even the most vested employee to feel under-appreciated and overworked.  Human Resources, Loss Prevention and any other department that conducts interviews is also bogged...

5 Quick Fixes to Your Pre-Employment Interviews

Clear the background check, drug test, and pass through a series of scripted behavioral based interviews with all of the decision makers. That sounds like a great process until about three weeks after hiring the candidate you find out they omitted something from their application. They have a problem with taking feedback and clearly aren’t a fit for your brand. As Certified Forensic Interviewers at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, our...

Identifying Intent: An Auditors Guide to the Truth

Another day, another audit. The routines of compliance or auditing professionals may seem very rigid, full of checks and balances, checkmarks and scores; sometimes even the announcement that an auditor is onsite will cause a location or department to completely derail from their current focus and scramble to satisfy all of their required tasks to remain compliant. However, there is more to compliance than pass or fail and those...