Move over investigative interviewing techniques, you’re old-school. Now it’s all about information gathering, and there’s a stack of training that goes with it. We meet ex-police-detective Oscar Persichitti who trains people in these skills, and he tells us more …
Oscar Persichitti was a police officer with the Western Australia Police for over 18 years, having left the service at the rank of detective sergeant. He spent the majority of his service as a detective investigating serious crime at various detectives’ offices and in specialist areas including the fraud squad, armed robbery squad and organised crime squad.
Having reached the rank of detective sergeant, he was later appointed senior trainer at detective training school at the Joondalup Police Academy.
Oscar represented WA Police at the 2nd International Conference on Investigative Interviewing 2006, at the University Of Portsmouth, U.K. He’s been invited to speak at numerous seminars including a professional development seminar for Australian and New Zealand parliamentary staff at Parliament House, Perth and later at the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance Fraud conference.
Oscar I’d never heard about this until I found your website, so can you please explain – what is Investigation Training?
Investigation training is intended for employees conducting investigations and compliance work. It provides participants with the knowledge and skills required to conduct effective and efficient investigations, capable of withstanding scrutiny from external authorities.
Conducting investigations is a process. If you get the process right, the size and the type of the investigation becomes irrelevant. The role of an investigator is to identify, collect, collate and analyse information in order to determine the cause of an incident. The investigation may focus on root causes in order to prevent future occurrences, involve breaches of legislation or disciplinary regulations.
Regardless of the type of investigation being conducted, an investigator must be aware of his or her legal responsibilities and ensure it is fair and just to all concerned. It is therefore imperative that it complies with the appropriate legislative requirements, including criminal and civil jurisdictions. For example, it is important to remember that an incident investigation can be referred to Coroner’s Court who will then publicly assess the competency of that investigator and his/her organisation.
Organisations often have their own response to non-compliance matters and therefore effective and efficient investigations will provide organisations a capacity to monitor and enforce non-compliance by:
- Cautioning or writing warning letters
- Compliance enforcement orders
- Monetary fines
- Civil action or disciplinary actions
- Criminal prosecution
Our courses are designed to enable participants to;
- Identify the nature of any inquiry or incident
- Identify any breaches or non compliance
- Identify cause
- Identify and gather evidentiary proofs to substantiate any breach
- Recommend any further action
- Report on investigation results
Who uses investigative interviewing training?
Compliance staff, HR Professionals when investigating disciplinary matters, OHS personnel when investigating incidents or near misses, all regulatory bodies who enforce compliance to legislative acts and regulations including – Customs, Fisheries, ASIC, etc.
Was this knowledge developed overseas as a formal training method?
Not investigation training per se, however Investigative Interviewing did come out of the UK.
The interviewing of witnesses and suspects is one of the most important aspects of any investigation as on most occasions the successful outcome hinges largely on the information obtained from witnesses and the suspects themselves.
In the early 1990s, the United Kingdom (UK) came under intense scrutiny in the way that police officers were conducting interviews. As a result, a Steering Party co-ordinated by the Home Office (UK), conducted research to gauge why police conducted interviews so poorly.
Research conducted by Professor Baldwin found that:
- Police received no formal training in this science
- Poor Planning
- Lack of understanding of their role and the role of the eyewitness
- Poor knowledge of the relevant law
- A general lack of enthusiasm/care for their work
Following the outcomes of this research, a National (UK) interviewing training package, (called “Investigative interviewing”) commenced in 1993 with its theoretical structure is now adopted world-wide, including policing jurisdictions within Australia.
Investigative Interviewing has taken over as the preferred way of interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects. The concept is based on an “information gathering” approach as opposed to an “interrogation” style of interviewing. It also uses the theory of how the human cognitive process works to assist with information retrieval.
At what point did you realise that you wanted to step into delivering this knowledge independently?
Having spent the majority of my working life in operations – on the frontline – I decided to give training a go. I found it most enjoyable and very rewarding. It became my passion and I decided to challenge myself – venture into the world of corporate Australia in the training field. From scratch!
I started off delivering conflict resolution – another speciality of mine – where I draw on my many conversations with people from all walks of life – and continued to train in Investigations and Interviewing. Then the GFC struck … I held on tight – built relationships – made my presentations entertaining and valuable – with my partnerships offered accredited training … and here I am today, building one success story after another – hopefully anyway!
Why are investigative techniques becoming more important to businesses and government?
Businesses and government agencies are becoming more accountable for their people and other resources. Occupational Health & Safety is attached to key indicators with most businesses and are very accountable to the OHS Regulatory bodies, which means incidents need to be investigated and are often reviewed by external agencies like the Coroner’s Office.
What’s a typical duration of training that people undertake to be qualified in investigation techniques?
Investigation Techniques Course – 2 days. This two day course is intended for employees conducting investigations and compliance work. It will provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to conduct effective and efficient investigations, capable of withstanding scrutiny from external authorities. The course specifically covers: Investigation planning, evidence gathering and interviewing. Course content is of the highest standard and presented by lecturers who know what they’re talking about.
On completion, participants can continue their learning by completing a Certificate IV of Government (Investigation) or the Certificate III of Investigative Services. These course durations will depend on experience of participants. The courses offer a good mix of face-to-face training, distance learning and opportunities for recognition of prior learning (RPL). All participants are offered assistance by an experienced coach in order to successfully meet all competency standards.
To find out more about investigative interviewing techniques with Oscar’s click on www.abovebeyondtraining.com.au
Oscar also holds the following qualifications: Graduate Certificate in Security Management (Edith Cowan University), Advanced Diploma of Business Management, Advanced Diploma of Public Safety (Police Investigation), Diploma of Occupational Health and Safety, Diploma of Project Management, Diploma of Criminal Investigation, and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment.
