When investigators with experience in corporate interrogation and with backgrounds as supervisory federal agents arrive on the scene of a corporate theft investigation, the time it takes to uncover the crime can be measured in hours. Their approach to identifying employee theft in a retail company begins by meeting the president or CEO to gain his/her perspective on the problem.
This first step is followed by a series of interviews and corporate interrogations in the areas where the theft is occurring. Conducting thorough interviews of employees about scheduling, accounting and inventory activities can bring to light a host of suspicious problems that yield a significant amount of evidence in as little as four hours.
By articulating the seriousness of the crime and the determination to solve it, two private investigators with exceptionally strong interview and interrogation skills are able to, in most cases, receive a confession from an employee in minutes. This confession can lead to the identification of either one or more employees engaged in theft regionally or nationally.
For example, the revenue from the flagship store of a large, upscale national clothing chain was suspiciously lower than the previous year. Suspecting a significant case of employee theft, the company’s management used an outside team of private investigators to interview the store’s employees.
After a few days of interviews and interrogations, the employees interviewed were cleared of their involvement in the suspected theft. This enabled the team to concentrate specifically on the actions of the retailer’s security personnel.
The team’s concerns were confirmed on the first night when surveillance investigators caught several security guards removing clothes from the racks and placing them in a dumpster at 3 a.m. The items were later picked up and traded in for cash at another store. This case demonstrates how proper interview and interrogation practices can quickly lead private investigators to the source of most employee theft issues and avoid costlier investigative practices that can include undercover work.
The ability to conduct effective interview and interrogation sessions only comes from years of training and experience in federal law enforcement agencies such as the DEA, FBI, IRS and Secret Service. An articulate understanding of the laws and rules of criminal investigation back these proven and effective practices. The result is evidence that stands up in court.
Do you have questions on interview and interrogation practices and procedures? I would be pleased to assist you.