The PEACE Model of Investigation Interviews

How effective are your investigation interviews? Do you feel like you ask questions that gather all the information you need? Do subjects offer up information freely or clam up? Does it take multiple interviews with the same person to get the details you’re after? How is your rapport with interview subjects?

If you feel that your interviews could use some work, it could be the interviewing method you’re using. When interviewees feel like they’re put on the spot or being treated like they’re guilty (even if they’re just a witness), they might shut down. This is frustrating and a waste of both of your time. That’s why you need to use a more emotionally intelligent approach.

The PEACE Model of investigative interviewing was developed in the early 90s as a collaborative effort between law enforcement and psychologists in England and Wales. This model takes a conversational, non-confrontational approach to getting information from an investigation interview subject. It was designed to reduce the number of false confessions that were being recorded due to the overly aggressive interviewing tactics of other common interviewing models.

Today, the PEACE Model is being used successfully throughout the UK and other countries, and is gaining popularity in North America for its ethical approach to information gathering.

The PEACE model of interviewing focuses on building rapport between the interview subject and the investigator and aims to build a sense of connection and ease. PEACE stands for “Preparation and Planning; Engage and Explain; Account, Clarify, and Challenge; Closure; Evaluation.” By carefully taking each of these steps, you’ll be able to gather the details you seek and subjects will feel calm and respected.

Investigative interviewing can be one of the trickiest parts of the investigation, for both the interviewees and the investigator. Using this interview model helps make the process a little more comfortable for all involved, hopefully helping the interviewer ask more helpful questions and the subjects offer up more information that’s relevant to the case. If your team does not currently use this method, consider adding PEACE interview training to your process; it can be beneficial to investigative teams of any size, in any industry.

This is not to be confused with the PEACE model of communication, which is often used for conflict resolution. That method stands for “Perception clarification, Empathetic listening, Appreciate diversity, Collaborative problem solving, and Emotional intelligence.” This is a useful tool for workplace investigations, but does not completely apply to investigation interviews.

This cheat sheet provides an overview of the five steps of an investigation interview using the PEACE Method. Download it to learn the stages, including:

• preparation and planning
• engage and explain
• account
• closure
• evaluation