who claims he was wrongfully convicted, and Case Study 6 involves the theft of a deposit
from a skating rink.
100%
97.00%
94.00%
89.00%
90.00%
90%
00%
86.00%
80%
81.00%
78
72.00%
70%
66.00%
60%
Reid BAI Study
50%
FAINT 3-Point
.
40%
FAINT Weighted
34.00%
30%
20%
10%
2.00%
50%0
0%
Truthful
Overall
Deceptive
Inconclusive
Accuracy
FIGURE 11.1 Comparison of the Reid BAI, FAINT 3 point, and FAINT weighted scoring systems with incon
clusives considered as errors.
CASE STUDY 1
187
97%
100%
94%
91%
92%
90%
88%
86%
90%
83%
80%
80%
70%
60%
Reid BAI Study
50%
FAINT 3-Point
40%
FAINT Weighted
30%
20%
10%
0%
Truthful
Overall
Deceptive
Accuracy
FIGURE 11.2 Comparison of Reid BAI, FAINT 3 point, and weighted scoring systems with inconclusives not
considered as errors.
CASE STUDY 1
In the following case study, a man is accused of sexually molesting a minor child in his
care.
Q: Where do you work?
A: I do not work.
Q: Finish this sentence for me, this interview and investigation are about?
A: As I wrote before, about establishing the veracity of my position.
Q: Why do they want you to take the examination?
A: . . . (Body shift) I think anyone accused of a crime, anyone prosecuted, I think frequently the reaction is I didn’t do it. I told them I am being set up. I was a whistle blower. I never admitted to anything illegal or immoral.
Q: How do you feel about being interviewed?
A: To be perfectly honest, I am not going to lie to you, I’ve been told forensic interviews are not always
100% accurate, and it would be very unfortunate if it said I was not telling the truth, and that would not help me very much.
Q: Write in detail what your case was about and how you would explain it.
A: I have been falsely accused of a crime. As I understand the circumstances, the procedure(s) today
should serve to verify my veracity. Hopefully, the results will be accurate.
Q: What exactly were you accused of doing?
A: I was accused of child abuse. It was my next door neighbor.
Q: Does he have a name?
A: Jonathan accuses me of umm . . . umm . . . improperly touching his minor son.
Q: What is his name?
A: His name is . . . this is embarrassing, I’m sorry . . . Bruce.
Q: How old was he?
A: I believe he is currently 19. This allegedly took place . . . six or seven years ago. It was before his Bar Mitzvah.
Q: What exactly do they say you did?
188
11. THE VALIDATION OF THE FORENSIC ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW (FAINT)
A: They say I put my private parts on his body. Allegedly at the Synagogue. We had been to the mikvah
a couple times. The lady next door is an abused wife. Jonathan beats her and the children. It was a disgrace.
He is a heavy drinker. She was not very bright and would always lose things and how many times she
would ask me to take a carrot peeler . . . you need it to go into the mikvah. One day she had a number of
things and asked if it was okay to take Bruce with you? It is for males only. You go in through the side door and you never know when anyone else can come in. The allegation is it happened in the mikvah room.
Q: What are the five most important reason you think created this situation?
A: There are two reasons. Number one, umm . . . I was viewed as being a trouble maker, and number two
is, I was viewed as being a trouble maker. I called the police twice.
Q: Did you ever think about doing anything like this?
A: (Closes eyes) No.
Q: Did you touch Bruce with your penis?
A: No. (Answers softly)
Q: Why did he say this?
A: He has to discredit me from being a threat to him.
Q: How are you a threat to him?
A: Well, if I got involved with the authorities. The boy is petrified of him.
Q: What do you think should happen to a person if they did do this?
A: It’s not my place to decide.
Q: If they did what he claimed, and it was their first offense, do you think they should get a second chance?
A: It’s not my place to decide. I don’t know. It’s a wrong thing to do, a foolish thing to do.
Q: How do you think the investigation will turn out concerning you, and whether or not you did this?
A: I hope it will turn out to verify what I told you.
Q: Would there be any reason evidence would turn up indicating you did do this?
A: Would there be any reason? No, there is no evidence. There can’t be any evidence for something that
never happened.
Q: Why do you think people do things like this sometimes?
A: I can’t understand it, I don’t know.
Q: If you had been the interviewer today, and had three questions to ask to resolve this problem, what
would they have been?
A: I don’t know.
Analysis of Case Study 1
Q: Where do you work?
A: I do not work.
Q: Finish this sentence for me, this interview and investigation are about?
A: As I wrote before, about establishing the veracity of my position.
Score: 2 Fails to say what investigation is about in strong language.
Q: Why do they want you to take the examination?
A: . . . (Body shift) I think anyone accused of a crime, anyone prosecuted, I think frequently the reaction is I didn’t do it. I told them I am being set up. I was a whistle blower. I never admitted do anything illegal or immoral.
Score: -2 Fails to say what investigation is about in strong language.
Q: How do you feel about being interviewed?
A: To be perfectly honest, I am not going to lie to you, I’ve been told forensic interviews are not always
100% accurate, and it would be very unfortunate if it said I was not telling the truth, and that would not help me very much.
CASE STUDY 1
189
Score: 0 This is referred to as “poisoning the well.” He already is telling us he will not
do well because the process does not work.
Q: Write in detail what your case was about and how you would explain it.
A: I have been falsely accused of a crime. As I understand the circumstances, the procedure(s) today
should serve to verify my veracity. Hopefully, the results will be accurate.
Score: –2 Fails to say what investigation is about. Does not allow for construction of a
relevant question, and again questions the process.
Q: What exactly were you accused of doing?
A: I was accused of child abuse. It was my next door neighbor.
Q: Does he have a name?
A: Jonathan accuses me of umm . . . umm . .
. improperly touching his minor son.
Q: What is his name?
A: His name is . . . this is embarrassing, I’m sorry . . . Bruce.
Q: How old was he?
A: I believe he is currently 19. This allegedly took place . . . six or seven years ago. It was before his Bar Mitzvah.
Q: What exactly do they say you did?
A: They say I put my private parts on his body. Allegedly at the Synagogue. We had been to the mikvah
a couple times. The lady next door is an abused wife. Jonathan beats her and the children. It was a disgrace.
He is a heavy drinker. She was not very bright and would always lose things and how many times she
would ask me to take a carrot peeler . . . you need it to go into the mikvah. One day she had a number of
things and asked if it was okay to take Bruce with you? It is for males only. You go in through the side door and you never know when anyone else can come in. The allegation is it happened in the mikvah room.
Q: What are the five most important reason you think created this situation?
A: There are two reasons. Number one, umm . . . I was viewed as being a trouble maker, and number two
is, I was viewed as being a trouble maker. I called the police twice.
Score: þ1 This could possibly be a reason for a false allegation.
Q: Did you ever think about doing anything like this?
A: (Closes eyes) No.
Score: –1 Nonverbal behavior indicative of possible deception.
Q: Did you touch Bruce with your penis?
A: No. (Answers softly)
Score: 0 Change in voice negates answer.
Q: Why did he say this?
A: He has to discredit me from being a threat to him.
Q: How are you a threat to him?
A: Well, if I got involved with the authorities. The boy is petrified of him.
Q: What do you think should happen to a person if they did do this?
A: It’s not my place to decide.
Score: –1 Does not suggest strong punishment.
Q: If they did what he claimed, and it was their first offense, do you think they should get a second chance?
A: It’s not my place to decide. I don’t know. It’s a wrong thing to do, a foolish thing to do.
190
11. THE VALIDATION OF THE FORENSIC ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW (FAINT)
Score: –1 Does not suggest strong punishment, and describes crime in very soft terms:
“foolish thing to do.”
Q: How do you think the investigation will turn out concerning you, and whether or not you did this?
A: I hope it will turn out to verify what I told you.
Score: –1 The word “hope” is a hedge. Again, he uses very soft terminology, “verify
what I told you,” versus “that I told the truth.”
Q: Would there be any reason evidence would turn up indicating you did do this?
A: Would there be any reason? No, there is no evidence. There can’t be any evidence for something that
never happened.
Score: –1 Repeating the question is a strategy to “buy time” while you think of an
answer. This question should not have required any thought.
Q: Why do you think people do things like this sometimes?
A: I can’t understand it, I don’t know.
Score: þ1 Innocent people often cannot comprehend why people do deviant acts.
Q: If you had been the interviewer today, and had three questions to ask to resolve this problem, what
would they have been?
A: I don’t know.
Score: –1 To receive a positive score he had to offer relevant questions that would have
gone to the heart of the issue: “Did you sexually touch that boy?”
This suspect’s FAINT score was a –10, indicative of deception.
CASE STUDY 2
In the following case an expensive ring was stolen from a jewelry store.
Q: Where do you work?
A: ABC Jewelry Store.
Q: How long have you worked there?
A: I think . . . seven or eight years.
Q: What do you do?
A: Shipping and receiving.
Q: How do you like working there?
A: I like the people. A little stressful, but. . . .
Q: What is this interview and investigation about?
A: It’s about a package missing.
Q: Why were you selected to be interviewed?
A: Well, apparently I was the last one to sign for it and it did get into my shipping room but it didn’t get into my log book.
Q: How do you feel about being interviewed?
A: I’m fine. I mean I understand.
CASE STUDY 2
191
Q: Write in detail what you know about this and how you would explain it.
A: I work in shipping and receiving. A package was signed for on 5/14/09 was brought to my shipping
room. It was a very busy day for packages and I needed help checking them in. One turned up missing.
Didn’t know it was missing until we check with customer 5 weeks later. I wasn’t the only one checking in
packages that day. Can’t be sure what happened to the package. My guess would be it was thrown out
by mistake.
Q: How could that happen?
A: I had a bad month. Passed kidney stones, brother died. I thought it was the day my brother died
because I seen I needed help and thought I ran out and that was the day I needed help. Then checked dates
and seen it was two days later.
Q: Did you ever think about doing anything like this?
A: No.
Q: Did you take that missing diamond ring in May?
A: No.
Q: If you had to suspect someone, who would you suspect?
A: Honestly, no one. We all been there and I know it sounds like a stock answer, but really I couldn’t
point at no one.
Q: Who would you eliminate that had access; would say definitely didn’t take it?
A: A couple people: me, Tina and Tom.
Q: What do you think should happen to the person that took the ring when they are caught?
A: . . . Made to pay for it.
Q: Would you give them a second chance?
A: . . . Yeah. I mean it depends on if they keep doing it or if they have problems.
Q: How do you think the investigation will turn out concerning you, and whether or not you took that
missing ring?
A: Hopefully it should be okay.
Q: Would there be any reason evidence would turn up indicating you did take it?
A: No.
Q: Would you be willing to chip in so we could recover the loss, and just drop the investigation?
A: No.
Q: Why would someone do something like this?
A: . . . I don’t know, because they’re dishonest, maybe.
Q: Do you think the ring was stolen?
A: I honestly think it was put in the trash. I hate to say that, but I believe that.
Q: Do you know for sure what happened to it?
A: No, I can’t be for sure.
Q: If you were the investigator, how would you conduct this investigation?
A: I don’t know. I’m not an investigator.
Q: What are the five main reasons you think this problem occurred?
A: Five reasons? I don’t know why there would be reasons. I think it was mistakenly thrown out. I can’t
believe anyone there took it. It’s supposed to be a sterile room, but people come in and out. We make rules, but they’re not followed through for long.
Q: If you were the interviewer and could only have asked three questions to resolve this problem, what
would you have asked?
A: Did you take the ring? Who do you think did it? Do you think it was thrown in the trash?
Analysis of Case Study 2
Q: Where do you work?
A: ABC Jewelry Store
Q: How long have you worked there?
A: I think . . . seven or eight years.
Q: What do you do?
192
11. THE VALIDATION OF THE FORENSIC ASSESSMENT INTERVIEW (FAINT)
A: Shipping and receiving.
Q: How do you like working there?
A: I like the people. A little stressful, but. . . .
Score: 0 He likes the people but fails to answer how he likes working there.
Q: What is this interview and investigation about?
A: It’s about a package missing.
Score: þ2 In employee theft cases innocent people will often use the term “missing.”
Q: Why were you selected to be interviewed?
A: Well, apparently I was the last one to sign for it and it did get into my shipping room but it didn’t get into my log book.
Score: þ1 Implicates himself as a possible suspect.
Q: How do you feel about being interviewed?
A: I’m fine. I mean I understand.
Score: þ2 Positive answer without any hesitation or adaptors.
Q: Write in detail what you know about this and how you would explain it.
A: I work in shipping and receiving. A package was signed for on 5/14/09 was brought to my shipping
room. It was a very busy day for packages and I needed help checking them in. One turned up missing. (X)
Didn’t know it was missing until we check with customer 5 weeks later. I wasn’t the only one checking in
packages that day. (X) Can’t be sure what happened to the package. My guess would be it was thrown
out by mistake.
Score: –2 Statement lacks commitment at key points indicated by missing pronouns (X)
and failure to use first person past tense.
Q: How could that happen?
A: I had a bad month. (X) Passed kidney stones, (X) brother died. I thought it was the day my brother
died because I seen I needed help and thought I ran out and that was the day I needed help. Then (X) checked dates and seen it was two days later.
REMARK: Notice missing pronouns (X), and the use of a “double” (I needed help), which
is indicative of mental stress.
Q: Did you ever think about doing anything like this?
A: No.
Score: þ1
Q: Did you take that missing diamond ring in May?
A: No.
CASE STUDY 2
193
Score: þ1
Q: If you had to suspect someone, who would you suspect?
A: Honestly, no one. We all been there and I know it sounds like a stock answer, but really I couldn’t
Nathan J Gordon, William L Fleisher Page 27