Class Details
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Investigative Statement Analysis is a discipline that is highly effective in the detection of deception, truthfulness
and identification of hidden information in a subject’s written or spoken statements. ISA involves scientifically
examining the word choice, structure and content of a subject’s statement to determine whether it is truthful or
deceptive as opposed to the traditional emotional method of rationalizing the events in the subject’s story.
HOW ISA WORKS:
Thelinguistic analyst examines the subject’s statement to identify all the existing linguistic signals. They
can thendetermine if the statement is truthful or deceptive, exactly what specific points of the statement are
deceptiveortruthful and reveal much information that the subject didn’t intend to include. Look at an example:
“Before I left home, I said goodbye to her. After I said goodbye to her,
I left the houseto catch my flight.”
The sentences above are a small segment taken from a murder suspect’s written statement.
They appear to be rather insignificant but believe it or not, this segment contains SIX signals that the writer is
likely to have committed the murder! He even tells us when he committed it! The information taught in the
class will teach you to immediately recognize why the statement tells us this and will make the linguistic signals
jump off the page at your eye!
Using ISA, the interviewer knows prior to the interview, what the deception is and where it lies.
The interviewer/analyst focuses directly upon those areas, using a competent interview technique, and
compels them to confess. Investigators will save countless hours of hit-and-miss interviewing.
The basic course is conducted over two and a half days. It is highly interactive with a significant hands-on,
statement analysis practice. There may be a small amount of homework involved, but it is very challenging and
very enjoyable for students. Students are encouraged to bring with them statements from past or current
cases that might be used as examples in class. Every student is provided with a workbook and all items needed to successfully participate including markers, pens, rulers, and handouts.
Students should bring a simple, four-function pocket calculator.
After successful completion of the class, students are afforded continuing advice in the analysis and
interpretation of statements in students’ on-going investigations as well as development and analysis of IQ
questionnaires. This is all free of charge
UPON COMPLETION:
- Understand concepts of truthfulness and deception. How to maximize efficiency and effectiveness when interviewing; Insight into the thought processes of deceptive people.
- Understand what valid statements are and how to collect them. What is and how to obtain statements that are not affected by outside influences and are in the subject’s own words.
- Understand how to identify “Linguistic Signals”. The essence of statement analysis and why they indicate deception, truthfulness, and reveal far more than what the author has written.
- Applying the detailed analysis process of examining the components of statements to gain the most information possible to help gain confessions and dramatically improve confession rates.
- Develop a basic ability to interpret the results of an analysis. Integrating the information given by linguistic signals to complete a complete, vivid image of the reality behind the story.
- Understand and utilize the Validity Assessment process, the indicators of the levels of deception that take only minutes to identify.
- Maximizing potential for obtaining information. Establish the expectation with the target of an interview that they will offer information.
- Develop an alternative interview strategy. Develop interview strategies that will allow the interviewer to take full advantage of the information learned in the statement analysis, compelling suspects to confess. How to use the subject’s own words against them to elicit confessions.
- Practical application of skills and knowledge by completing a minimum of four practice statements. Analysis of 5 real-case statements to practice applying the newly learned discipline.
- Acquire understanding of and ability to compile the IQ questionnaire, the written investigative tool that will allow investigators to interview unlimited number of suspects in a matter of minutes and reduce the suspect pool by up to 95%.
ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Instructor Lt. Bob Shaffer has been a police officer and sergeant for the Loveland Police Department in
Loveland, Colorado since 1986. Lt. Shaffer has completed over 200 hours of basic, advanced, and advanced
mentoring instruction in modern statement analysis techniques. He has been providing quality classroom training
in statement analysis since 1997 throughout the U.S., Canada, the Asian Pacific, the Middle East and Mexico
His LSAT skills are often solicited by law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. during their criminal
investigations. Bob earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Secondary Education from the University of Northern
Colorado in 1981. He spent six years teaching at the high school and junior college levels in addition to
instructing law enforcement related topics extensively in local Colorado police academy programs. He has been
featured as a guest speaker and numerous professional investigation conventions in the United States. He is a
member of the teaching staff of P.A.T.C., (the Public Agency Training Council), the Ohio Police Officer Training
Academy in London OH, and is a member of the National Association of Investigative Specialists.
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Registration
- Fee: $525.00
Student Needs
- Note-taking material
- Four function pocket calculator
