Assessing Customs Officers’ Use of the Cognitive Interview for Suspects

The Cognitive Interview for Suspects (CIS) is a science-based technique that helps suspectsprovide detailed, accurate information without coercion. In this study, customs officersemploying the CIS gathered 29% more details than those using Standard Interviewing (SI)techniques. The CIS is time-efficient. Relative to SIs, interviews conducted using the CIS were shorter and contained fewer questions, yet yielded more information overall. The CIS, therefore, may be particularly useful in contexts in which time and resource constraints are frequently experienced. The source article found that officers trained in the CIS were more accurate in identifyingdeceptive statements than untrained officers, indicating that CIS training may enhanceinvestigators’ ability to detect deception. However, further research is necessary to validatethese findings; investigators should remain cautious when making determinations regardingsuspect statement veracity.