OUR BEGINNINGS
Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. was formed on May 1, 1982 by Douglas E. Wicklander and David E. Zulawski in response to the changing legal and professional standards surrounding interviews, interrogations and polygraph exams. Mr. Wicklander and Mr. Zulawski have each conducted over 10,000 interviews and interrogations and they shared the goal of leveraging this combined experience and expertise to develop new interview and interrogation methods that would prove to be successful in a wide range of applications. Prior to co-founding WZ, Doug Wicklander served as the Director of Behavioral Analysis at John E. Reid and Associates. After a career in law enforcement Dave Zulawski was also employed at John E. Reid and Associates as the Director of the Police and Fire Applicant Screening Division. Later they joined Reid Psychological Systems where Mr. Zulawski and Mr. Wicklander co-authored the Reid Survey III, an integrity exam which can be used in the pre-employment process or as part of an investigation.
As new legislation began to regulate the use of the polygraph exam Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. developed the non-confrontational WZ Method of Interview and Interrogation. The WZ Method is designed to be used in a wide range of crimes in the public and private sectors. The WZ Method allows the interviewer to leverage a subject’s physical and verbal behavior while avoiding denials on the way to achieving truthful confessions.
In 1984 Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. was licensed to teach the Reid Method* of Criminal Interviews and Interrogations by John E. Reid and Associates. As a result, WZ is the only organization providing training in both the non-confrontational WZ Method and the confrontational Reid Method* of interview and interrogation techniques. This unique combination allows WZ to successfully partner with clients in law enforcement, human resources, and investigators throughout the private sector.
The elite instructors at Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. are recruited from both the public and private sectors. Every instructor at WZ is a Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI). WZ is proud to say that over 90% of our law enforcement classes are facilitated by former police officers. WZ’s private sector instructors have extensive interview experience and a thorough understanding of the laws, policies and challenges that investigators and human resource professionals face every day.
The instructors at WZ understand the educational value of creating an entertaining learning environment. All of our instructors incorporate anecdotes from their career, humor, and group interaction into every seminar. Each seminar is supported by videos of actual interviews and interrogations and our workbooks are constantly updated to reflect the latest research, legal updates and process changes.
Since 1982, WZ has conducted thousands of seminars and educated hundreds of thousands of professional investigators.
WZ TODAY
WZ currently conducts over 360 seminars a year. Since 1982, WZ has conducted thousands of seminars and educated hundreds of thousands of professional investigators. WZ has developed customized basic and advanced seminars for law enforcement agencies, federal agencies, military units, human resource professionals and private sector investigators. The principles and techniques taught by WZ are accepted world wide. WZ opened an office in The United Kingdom in 2009 and has conducted seminars across Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America, Africa and Asia.
WZ has developed distant learning opportunities including webinars and the WZ Campus to meet the diverse learning needs and challenges that investigators face in the 21st century. WZ also offers support materials to augment our classroom instruction including an Audio CD, an interactive CD-ROM and the second edition of our text book; Practical Aspects of Interview and Interrogation.
At WZ our commitment to our partners does not end at the completion of the seminar. Our instructors make themselves available to consult with seminar attendees on investigations, strategies, training opportunities and their career development.
Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. is dedicated to advancing the interview profession. This is exemplified by their leading role with the Center for Interviewing Standards and Assessment and the Certified Forensic Interviewer (CFI) Designation. Our instructors regularly provide presentations for many organizations including the FBI National Academy Association, National Sheriffs Association, International Law Enforcement Education and Training Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, the Association for Certified Fraud Examiners and the Food Marketing Institute. Our instructors also contribute ongoing columns in private and public sector publications and have been called upon as expert witnesses.
Wicklander-Zulawski & Associates, Inc. provides services that extend beyond classroom. Every WZ instructor is also an experienced investigator. The investigators at WZ have over 300 years of combined experience conducting interviews and interrogations. Our investigators conduct interviews and interrogations for clients in both the private sector and law enforcement. WZ’s investigators provide additional services including pre-employment screening and interviewing, background checks, and safety and security evaluations.
Doug Wicklander and Dave Zulawski started WZ in 1982 with a vision to become the unquestioned leader in interview and interrogation training and consulting. Thirty years later, partners Shane Sturman and Wayne Hoover are leading WZ to the realization of that vision by educating professionals, building relationships, and leading a relentless pursuit of the truth.
* WZ is licensed by John E. Reid and Associates, Inc. (Reid), originator and developer of the Reid Method. WZ was licensed by Reid in 1984. Since that time, the extensive updates for this seminar, including the WZ Method of Non-Confrontational Interview & Interrogation, have been developed by WZ using the latest information from legal, psychological and interrogation research.