New criminal justice course at Harding University hones interviewing skills
By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
This article was published November 19, 2009 at 3:52 a.m.
SEARCY — Students in the Criminal Justice Program at Harding University can take advantage of a new course that will develop their interviewing techniques as they search to uncover the truth. Interview and Interrogation made its debut for the 2009-10 academic year and focuses on the face-to face interaction in both settings while developing knowledge of the behavioral reactions of a suspect, victim or witness.
Criminal Justice Program Director BJ Houston, who teaches the new class, completed two training courses in July and October that focused on various techniques of how to interview versus interrogate individuals in order to determine if they are being truthful in their answers. The training also zeroed in on methods of obtaining a confession from a perpetrator, regardless of the type of crime committed.
“I anticipate that the students taking the course will have a better understanding of how to conduct an interview in contrast to an interrogation once they leave Harding and enter the real world of criminal justice,” Houston said. “The information learned can be useful not only in the world of criminal justice but also in dealing with people on a day-to-day basis in assessing their credibility and honesty in what they are communicating.”
Students will become familiar with likely responses to the behavior of the interviewer while developing basic skills in conducting interviews and interrogations.
Class activities include role-playing to reinforce skills learned and analyzing video clips of actual interviews and interrogations. Guest lecturers also visit to share their expertise on the subject.
“Being able to conduct either successfully (but particularly the interrogation) can lead to obtaining a confession by the perpetrator, which greatly helps in getting a conviction when the perpetrator is prosecuted in court and ultimately leads to taking the ‘bad guy’ off the street and preventing additional innocent people from becoming victims of crime,” Houston said.
Three Rivers, Pages 58 on 11/19/2009
Print Headline: New criminal justice course at Harding University hones interviewing skills
Comments on: New criminal justice course at Harding University hones interviewing skills
To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Read our Terms of Use policy.
You must login to make comments.