Achieving Positive Outcomes Using Rapport-Based Police Interviewing in Sex Offense Investigations

Rapport is a critical component of interpersonal communication marked by verbal and non-verbal behaviors including attention, positivity, and coordination. The presence of these indicators during police interviews is positively correlated with information yield. This grounded theory study examined the relationship between rapport and information yield as measured by the quantity of details interviewees disclosed to investigators, particularly sensitive or incriminating details. The theory guiding this study was Cesare Beccaria’s classical criminology Rational Choice Theory, which suggests offenders are rational beings who conduct a cost-benefit analysis before engaging in crime. Investigators applying this theory and employing rapport-based interviewing skills will elicit more investigation-relevant information that those who do not establish rapport. This research is relevant to law enforcement practitioners, investigators, attorneys, judges, crime victims, suspects, and witnesses. This qualitative content analysis study assessed whether rapport-based interviewing was effective in sex-based offense investigations. The research sample of 14 recorded forensic interviews with sex offenders assessed outcomes in relation to rapport indicators as promulgated by the Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal model. The results of this study suggest interviewers with higher rapport indicator scores also obtained higher yields of investigation-relevant information.