Source Handler perceptions of the interviewing processes employed with informants

Abstract

The collection of accurate, detailed, and timely intelligence buttresses critical law enforcement decision-making. However, the quality and quantity of the intelligence gathered relies heavily upon the interviewing techniques used to retrieve it. The perceptions of intelligence practitioners are key to developing an understanding of practices concerning intelligence collection. Yet, to date, no research has been undertaken that explores the United Kingdom's Source Handlers' perceptions of the interviewing processes employed with informants. The present study interviewed 24 Source Handlers from Counter Terrorism Dedicated Source Units in the United Kingdom. Five themes emerged from the interviews, (i) a comparison between interviewing and debriefing; (ii) the PEACE model in intelligence interviews; (iii) the importance of effective communication; (iv) Source Handlers' use of cognitive retrieval techniques; and, (v) Source Handler interview training. The perceived commonalities between interviewing and debriefing provided support for the transferability of investigative interviewing research and practices into the collection of Human Intelligence (HUMINT), reiterating themes (ii), (iii), and (iv). Finally, participants highlighted a need for additional training concerning intelligence gathering techniques, as police officers who are responsible for gathering HUMINT could benefit from further professional development based on investigative interviewing research and professional practices.

Inside the shadows: a survey of UK human source intelligence (HUMINT) practitioners, examining their considerations when handling a covert human intelligence source (CHIS)

“…Therefore, the current study seeks to build upon previous studies (ie. Birkett & Pike, 2017;Nunan et al, 2020a;2020b;2020c;Nunan, Stanier, Milne, Shawyer, Walsh & May, 2020) by establishing a clear framework for future research, informed by the views and concerns of experienced practitioners. To achieve this, a bespoke survey was designed to identify current and active informant handlers' main concerns.…”

“…They wanted to establish which methods of communication, ranging from traditional face-to-face meetings to modern internet-based technologies, handlers use with their informants, and specifically explored how this impacted upon rapport. This was followed by Nunan et al (2020a;2020b) who conducted structured interviews on source handlers (N=24) within England and Wales, focussing on those engaged in counter terrorism investigations. Their first study (2020a) consisted of eight directed questions relating to rapport, and found that source handlers recognise the importance of establishing and maintaining rapport with their informants.…”

“…Again, these studies focussed on the use of rapport (Nunan et al, 2020c) and elicitation techniques (Nunan, Stanier, Milne, Shawyer, Walsh & May, 2020). The importance of rapport and elicitation techniques to the HUMINT practitioner was initially established through research conducted in the US (Nunan et al, 2020a;2020b), however, there are other areas of potential research which…”

“…Although recent studies have previously sought the views of UK informant handlers (Birkett & Pike, 2017;Nunan et al, 2020a;Nunan et al, 2020b), in none of these studies were the six identified categories explicitly presented to participants, nor were participants asked to rate their relative importance. Consequently, whilst research on each of the individual categories is likely to be beneficial, there is a danger that areas of potential research which are most important to handlers of active community-based informants in the UK will be neglected in favour of those areas which are of most importance to US operatives seeking to humanely elicit information from incarcerated passive sources of information.…”

“…Obtaining information: Information elicitation, including how it is done and how it can be improved, has perhaps received the most attention from academic research seeking to inform HUMINT practice (see Brandon, 2014;Vrij & Granhag, 2014;Nunan et al, 2020b;Nunan et al, 2020c) and the requirement to obtain information is encapsulated in the definition of a CHIS (Home Office, 2018). Consequently, any words or phrases mentioning "intelligence" or "information" were included in this category, including words relating to "access" to information or the "dissemination" of information, as well as those referring to the "value" or "reliability" of information.…”