The Truth is in the Words Operational Dynamic Solutions Marc Robichaud.

The Truth is in the Words

The Truth is in the Words

Operational Dynamic Solutions

Marc Robichaud

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

~Abraham Lincoln

AN INTRODUCTION TO STATEMENT ANALYSISAN INTRODUCTION TO STATEMENT ANALYSIS

When was the last time someone told you something that was not quite true? When was the last time you told someone something that was not entirely true? When did you last question the truthfulness of information you were told?


• Most people believe for the most part that lying is a thing to be condemned, refrained and shunned, yet we all accept it as a normal, perhaps even an inescapable, part of our daily lives.

• It is indeed one of the more fascinating aspects of human behavior. We have all done it and we expect others to do it to us.

• It is so pervasive, most of us don't even notice when it is happening.


• Although we are not necessarily conscious of it, critical thinking is something that we all do. Just as we learn to speak and write, and long before we learn aspects of grammar, we learn to think critically.

• Before we come to realize that this activity also has a pattern, we appreciate that certain actions have certain reactions or repercussions.

• We learn to use language to hide or divert attention from our actions. For those of you who have children, you were probably surprised at how quickly a child learns – and uses – critical thinking.


• Ultimately, those who become conscious of the patterns of language become more effective at communication.

• So too, those who become conscious of the pattern behind critical thinking become more adept at exposing the logic of an argument.

• This ability allows us to skillfully assess information presented and challenge defective arguments.


Statement analysis is an investigative process designed to detect deception in written or verbal statements.

WHAT IS STATEMENT ANALYSIS?WHAT IS STATEMENT ANALYSIS?

• Instead of focusing on the facts stated, in a statement analysis, you also focus on the words or lack of words in the response to determine truthfulness.

• The key to using these techniques is to identify a departure from the norm, a deviation, or a switch from one type of descriptive communication to another.

• No one can consistently lie to a good interviewer. We can uncover the truth, even from an unwilling subject or witness. We know this to be true though years of investigative results with the most seasoned of criminal minds.


• A statement analysis is simply an aid that can be used within the investigative process. It is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.

• Investigators often find that careful analysis of the statement prior to interviewing an individual is useful in identifying specific areas to question in more detail.

• In criminal investigations this is often used to obtain a confession. From a business perspective, we can use this process to better get to the bottom of issues, determine the best next steps and resolve difficult situations in an objective, credible manner.


• When conducting a statement analysis, you start with having the individual describe the event in question from his/her own perspective.

• Criminal investigators find that when they have the person go over the complete day in detail as to his/her activities, they ultimately obtain a complete account of the event in the individual’s own words.

• You can then ask pointed and focused questions regarding particular aspects of the statement. Once you have recorded complete account of the event, you are in a position to conduct the statement analysis.

CONDUCTING A STATEMENT ANALYSISCONDUCTING A STATEMENT ANALYSIS

The statement can be either a written statement or a recorded oral statement with the subject's knowledge and consent.


• The statement analyst looks for variations in language, word choice or other communication related choices.

• Certain words and style elements, as well as particular changes, become a red flag and area for special concentration.

• Phrasing analysis and careful examination of content using a complete statement provides the opportunity to identify further indications of deception


Where do you see the potential applications for statement analysis within a business environment?


AN INVESTIGATIVE TOOL Using a statement analysis will allow you to augment the tools and processes you currently use when investigating situations or issues that arise on a day to day basis.

The statement analysis can provide you with answers to some or all of the following questions:

THE COMPONENTS OF A STATEMENT ANALYSISTHE COMPONENTS OF A STATEMENT ANALYSIS

• Should you believe the person?

• Do you believe they are telling you everything regarding the issue or situation?

• Is the individual more involved in this situation than what he/she has said?

• Is there any relational difficulty – or problems - evident between the writer and the other people mentioned in the statement?


• What might be these difficulties be?

• When might those difficulties have begun?

• Did those difficulties contribute to the situation in any way? How? Why?

• Has the individual provided fully disclosure and an accurate description of what they were actually doing at the time of the situation?

• Should you suspect any elements of this account of the situation or issue?


STEP 1: Obtain a pure version statement or an account in the individual’s own words of the situation or issue.

THE TECHNIQUETHE TECHNIQUE

STEP 2: Ascertain key elements typical of a truthful statement. This is referred to as the norm.

• What did the subject actually say? • Why did the subject say it this way? • Why did he/she say it at this point in the statement? • Why did the subject use this much subjective time in this statement?


STEP 3: Look for any departure from this norm. Truthful statements differ from false ones in both content and quality. Statement analysis involves careful scrutiny of the written words provided by key individuals involved in the issue or situation. In criminal investigations, detectives carefully study the statements of both suspects and witnesses and ask the following:


STEP 4: Use the insight gained from your statement analysis to determine the next steps you need to take in the investigative process.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS: • Editing occurs in almost every conversation.

• Even the most truthful person will edit things they consider unimportant or embarrassing.

• If a subject did not say something then it did not happen.

• Nothing happens inside a vacuum.

• If someone goes over an area of importance in a statement very quickly, they are not comfortable discussing it.


EXERCISE – TRUE OR FALSE The following statement is from an initial interview conducted by email. The question posed to the candidate was: Describe the circumstances regarding why you left your last position – or why you are considering a job change from your current position.


• “ABC was a good company to work for. I worked for over 4 years in the customer service department. Recently in the company, there were new policies and procedures that were introduced that made it difficult for employees to fully service customers. Other employees found this acceptable and were not interested in making important and required changes. The manager of the department was not open to suggestions from the team, which led to my departure from the company.”

• Do you feel this is a true or false statement?

• What conclusions would you draw from this statement?

• What elements of the statement support your conclusion?


Obtaining a pure version statement involves having the interviewer getting the subject’s account of the situation or issue in a word for word statement, unedited and uninterrupted. As mentioned previously, we all edit our statements. Preparing good open-ended questions to begin the process provides us with a good starting point to analyze information with greater ease. Here are two examples of statements used to begin dialog between you and the individual you are interviewing:

PURE VERSION STATEMENTSPURE VERSION STATEMENTS

“I would like you to tell me what happened in your own words. To make sure we have all the details, I would like you to take the time to document the situation. This will give you the opportunity, without any interruptions; to provide the information we will need to move forward. Once you are done we can add to it and make sure we have all the details. Write down everything that happened, from the time you got to work today to right now.” “So that we have a full account of the incident, can I get you to take a few minutes to write down what happened from the beginning of that day, leading up to the incident. Then fully describe what happened and include what you did the remainder of the day after the incident occurred.”


THE STATEMENT

Encourage the individual you are interviewing to:

• Use one side of paper (8 ½ x 11).• Leave margins on both sides.• Double space.

If you are transcribing the statement from a tape, or takingnotes during the interview, include the following:

• Write every word.• Do not edit. If the person you are interviewing didn’t say

start a new paragraph, or use quotation marks, then don’t.


GUIDELINES FOR OBTAINING PURE VERSION STATEMENTS

• The most important point is not to interrupt. No matter how you decide to take the statement, written or recorded, you will want to develop it further.

• Utilize the individual’s own words from within the given statement for clarification. To effectively analyze the statement, it is important to use only the their words.

• When you need to clarify certain points, ask questions using the original terminology. For example: You said, “We worked well together.” What does that mean?

• Don’t use negative statements like: “This is going to be difficult,” or “I know this is hard.”

• In situations where the individual is being accused of something, don’t forget to ask directly if they did it.


• The pronoun “I” needs to be given special focus in the statement. Most people will reply in the first person, i.e. “ I ”. Any deviation from that would be an indicator of deception.

• When someone answers a question untruthfully concerning themselves, they will sometimes subconsciously attempt to draw focus away from themselves by avoiding the use of the first person pronoun, “I”.

• One of the best indicators of this is in a statement in which the subject continues to describe his accounts using the word “I” and then, all of a sudden he or she simply stops using it. For example:

PRONOUN ANALYSISPRONOUN ANALYSIS

“I got to work at 8:30. I got a cup of coffee and some toast. I drank my coffee and checked my voice mail. I read my email. I left for a meeting about 10:15. I got back 10:45. I worked until lunchtime which was about 12:30. I left work for lunch and walked to Subway. Met Pat Smith for lunch and then came back to work at about 1:30. I worked until about 7:00.”


Note the only time the subject did not use the first person pronoun “I” in his statement was when he met Pat. Anytime you see a deviation from a first person pronoun in a statement, an indicator should go up. The subconscious is at work endeavoring to distance one's self from any individual involvement.

“We left the office at 6:30. We arrived at the meeting at about 7:00. After the meeting was over, my coworker and myself left and went to Rock’s Bar.”


“My boss asked me to work on a report that took me until 1:00 to finish. I checked my voice mail and returned a couple of calls. I decided to go out for lunch. I walked to the sandwich shop on the corner. Met a guy from another department. Talked with him for a few minutes. I finished lunch and walked back to work."

The first person, singular pronoun is the norm for factual statements. You need to look for a lack of the pronoun "I" and overuse of the pronoun "we," which is first person, plural. Example:


"I met three friends in the lobby after work, talked for 10 minutes, then went to get something to eat with them. We had a couple of drinks at the bar on the way home. I stayed until just after midnight. I drove home...."

"We all met in the lobby after work, talked for 10 minutes, then went to get something to eat. We had a couple of drinks at the bar on the way home. We stayed until just after midnight. We each drove home...."

• Because the second statement contains only "we" instead of the expected norm, which uses mostly "I" . This raises a question as to why there is no individual involvement. Perhaps the person hopes to conceal something, or at least to avoid exclusive responsibility for some act.

• The pronoun "we" is a short, clear way to describe one's self and others after making proper introductions. "We" also denotes togetherness and indicates a connection between individuals.

• In speech and in written communication, linguists consider the shortest way to say something as the easiest and clearest way to communicate.


The “I versus We” Exception

There is an important consideration regarding "we". There may be an exception to the previous guidelines when the individuals are spouses. This may also be a consideration when individuals use “we” to reflect an established business relationship.


“My colleague (boss, co-worker, assistant, etc) and I were asked to attend an off-site meeting. We arrived at the meeting around 9:00AM. There were still 3 or 4 people in the meeting room when we left at noon.”

VERSUS “My colleague (boss, co-worker, assistant, etc) and I were asked to attend an off-site meeting. My colleague and I arrived at the meeting around 9:00AM. There were still 3 or 4 people in the meeting room when my colleague and I left at noon.”


“My wife and I were invited to a party at our neighbour’s house. We arrived at the party a little late. The party was still rocking when we left for home.”

VERSUS

“My wife and I were invited to a party at our neighbor's house. My wife and I arrived at the party a little late. The party was still rocking when my wife and I left for home.”

Changes In Pronouns• People will subconsciously shift from one pronoun to another in their

account of descriptions. This can be another indication of a false statement.

• When someone is opting not to show possession or admit association with a particular object or person, he or she will change the pronoun, or eliminate the pronoun completely.


"I left my office right after lunch to attend an outside appointment.... I drove back to my office, made a few phone calls, then went out to dinner with Lee Thompson.... Lee dropped me off at my house around 8:00. I realized I need a file and went to the office. I worked until about midnight in my home office to prepare for the next day.”

Pay attention to any switch in the use of a possessive pronoun.

POSSESSIVE PRONOUNSPOSSESSIVE PRONOUNS

“ We parked on Main Street as traffic was high and we could not find a close place to park. We then walked down about two blocks and turned right onto 5th with our money. They hit John over the head and took the money.”

Patsy Ramsey made the following statement while discussing the death of her daughter:

"I loved that child with my whole of my heart and soul." Notice the only possessive pronouns in the sentence are related to Patsy –“ my whole” and “my heart”.

• We all know that nouns denote persons, places and things. Yet nouns can take on different meanings depending on the individual.

• We can also use noun analysis to identify inconsistencies in a statement. Simply look for a change in the noun used in the description.

• A change of language reflects a change in reality. Note changes in the use of a word.

NOUN ANALYSISNOUN ANALYSIS

“My assistant and I left the office about 11:30 and went to lunch. We left the restaurant in my car at about 1:15. I stopped for gas at the station on the corner and then we headed back to the office. Arriving at about 1:45, my assistant stopped at the washroom and I went directly to my office. It was about 4:00 when I noticed Cathy was upset.”

• Notice the change from “My assistant” to “Cathy”.

In a statement to police the subject calls his spouse “my wife“ seven times.

What do you notice about this statement?

"...I lost control of the gun. I sensed that the barrel was pointing in my wife’s direction and I reacted by grabbing at the gun to get it back under control. When I did this the gun discharged. It went off once and I looked over and saw blood on Louise's face."

POLICE FILESPOLICE FILES

An adjective is a word that modifies, or qualifies, a noun or pronoun, in one of three forms of comparative degree:

Positive (strong, beautiful) Comparative (stronger, more beautiful) Superlative (strongest, most beautiful).

ADJECTIVE ANALYSISADJECTIVE ANALYSIS

• He was much more powerful than me.

• He overpowered me.

When someone uses the definite article, they have previous knowledge of a noun. Example:

They accused me of stealing a computer.They accused me of stealing the computer.

DEFINITE VS INDEFNIITE ARTICLEDEFINITE VS INDEFNIITE ARTICLE

Personal Introductions should be clear. Lack of proper introduction most likely indicates a poor relationship

Chris Smith, my manager, gave me additional responsibilities.

Additional responsibilities were added to my role by the manager of the department.

INTRODUCTIONSINTRODUCTIONS

In a national speech President Clinton made the following statement regarding allegations of sexual misconduct:

“I want to say one thing to the American people. I'm going to say this again. I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. I never told anybody to lie. Not a single time. Never. These allegations are False and I need to go back to work for the American people."

NEWSNEWS

The use of the adjective “that” in relation to a person is an attempt to distance oneself from that person.

• Verbs communicate action, either in the past, present, or future.

• In Statement Analysis, the tense of the verb is of utmost importance. When analyzing statements, you need to concentrate on the tense of the verbs used by the person you are interviewing.

• In a truthful statement, the use of the past tense is the norm, because by the time a person relates the event, it has already occurred.

VERB ANALYSISVERB ANALYSIS

Which of the following statements is most likely to be a truthful statement?


Example #1:"It happened Friday afternoon. I went into the photocopy room to make a copy of a financial report. The room was dark. Chris came into the room behind me. He touched me in an inappropriate way."

Example #2:"It happened Friday afternoon. I went into the photocopy room to make a copy of a financial report. The room was dark. Chris comes into the room behind me. He touches me in an inappropriate way."

• Verbs will generally express action as someone is providing their account of an event. People can state action in past, present or future.

• Anytime the tense in a statement changes, it should be regarded as an indicator.


“About the middle of last month, I went down to storage room. I got the key from the security desk. I put the box down before I opened the door. Opening the door, I see that the new laptops are gone. I went up to the office and asked if anyone knew anything about the laptops. I then called security.”

• Susan Smith reports that her two children were abducted in a car jacking. She makes the following statement:

“My children wanted me. They

needed me. And now I can't help them.”

NEWSNEWS

• My children wanted me. They needed me. And now I can't help them.“

• Note the verb tense.

Verb choice reflects emotion, mood or tone at the time of an incident.

• He asked me to take my clothes off.• He told me to take my clothes off.• I watched him steal the money. The use of the word watched suggests some form of participation. Most people would say I saw.


During a rape the perpetrator made the following statement to his victim: “Don’t call the Police! If you go to the Police I will know.” What would you suspect based on this statement?


The rapist was a police officer. Investigators pursued this based on the above statement. The word “know” relays specific knowledge.

Dr. Jeffrey McDonald of “Fatal Vision” fame, makes the following statement to ambulance attendants after his wife and two children have been stabbed numerous times:

POLICE FILESPOLICE FILES

Look to my wife! Check my wife! Check my kids!"

The use of verbs here is very odd. Look to my wife? He knows his children have been injured. Do you not think that he would ask ambulance attendants to help them rather than check them?

An adverb is a word that modifies:A verb (he walked slowly) An adjective (a very good book)Another adverb (he walked very slowly).

ADVERBSADVERBS

Adverbs may indicate:Place or direction (where, whence)Time (ever, immediately)Degree (very, almost)Manner (thus, and words ending in -ly, such as wisely)Belief or doubt (perhaps, no)

Common Deceptive Adverbs

ImmediatelyObviouslyQuicklyVery

ADVERBSADVERBS

I dropped off a very large pile of files and left his office very quickly. I dropped off the files and went back to my desk..

EXTRANEOUS INFORMATIONEXTRANEOUS INFORMATION

Any use of adverbs in a statement should be suspect. This is a clear sign of deception. Most factual statements will have little or no adverbs.

• In a statement analysis from an individual who witnesses a particular event, there can be many signs of extraneous information and information presented out of order in relationship to time

• People involved in an issue or offense may feel the need to justify their actions.


A person engaged in deception is more likely to use extraneous phrasing such as:

• I believe, I think • Kind of • To the best of my knowledge


"He approached me in a frightening way. And when I looked up and I was, I mean I was really paying attention to what I was doing and I didn't know what was going on, and I kind of you know I was scared and I was kind of startled. You know, You know I was upset and he, he told, he kept telling me to shut up."

• Started• Began• Continued• Proceeded• Completed• After• Afterwards• The next thing I remember

CONNECTORSCONNECTORS

“I proceeded to explain the reason I needed the information. The next thing I remember he started yelling at me to get out of his office.” “I asked him why the report wasn’t ready. I explained that this was the third time he was late and if he didn’t get the information to me I would have to report it to our manager. He told me he was busy and yelled at me to get out of his office.”

CONNECTORSCONNECTORS

Sometimes indicators can be drawn from considering the total content of the statement and studying in it detail. A statement should have three parts: 1) An account leading up to the event.2) An account of the actual event.3) An account of what happened after the event..

BALANCE TESTING IN STATEMENT ANALYSISBALANCE TESTING IN STATEMENT ANALYSIS

Look for the following breakdown:

Introduction 20%Main Incident 50%Conclusion 30%

Any deviation from this format should cause the statement to be suspect.

BALANCE TESTING IN STATEMENT ANALYSISBALANCE TESTING IN STATEMENT ANALYSIS

In a business environment issues and situations arise that require investigation. A statement analysis is an additional tool you can use to assist in the investigative process.

USING A STATEMENT ANALYSISUSING A STATEMENT ANALYSIS

The two most common questions regarding a statement analysis are:

•Where does it fit? For most professionals looking to use a statement analysis, this augments the current process used for any corporate investigation. An individual approaches you regarding an issue or situation and you need to figure out what is going on. After getting the initial request, you can begin you investigation by having the key players involved complete an initial interview, which will include a written statement. The next step is to review the statements and from that point determine what your next steps will entail.


•What are the right questions to ask? This is key. Presenting the person you are interviewing with the right question(s) to complete their written statement is critical to getting the right information. In some instances you will be able to ask one, solid, broad question to get a sense of what happened in a particular incident. In others, you may want to have a series of questions based on the complexity of the situation or the degree of detail required.

- A CASE STUDY- The following examples reflect a number of situations, or issues, where

a statement analysis would be of value in assisting in the investigation. Choose one of the following examples and identify your plan for using a statement analysis including:

• Who would you ask to complete a statement analysis?

• How would you position the statement analysis with the individuals involved?

• What question(s) would you ask to get the statement?


SITUATION #1 – HARASSMENT CLAIMA new staff member, recently transferred in from another department, has accused a long term manager of inappropriate behavior. The manager has never had anyone make a similar claim. He has worked with the same team for a number of years and the group has had little to no turnover.


SITUATION #2 – SUSPICION OF THEFTA warehouse manager has contacted you regarding missing equipment. Over the last 2 months a significant number of items have gone missing, and the manager suspects that there is a member or members of the team responsible for the theft.

SITUATION #3 – LABOUR RELATIONSA unionized employee has identified a situation where select individuals in their work unit have participated in work related activities while others have not had the opportunity to partake. The individual feels that this is special treatment and that the employees who participate have an advantage over their peers when applying for other jobs, including promotions.

By using all of the above tools and studying this subject in depth, you will indeed become more adept at seeking and discovering the truth. Although statement analysis is an excellent supplement to any investigation, it is by no means a substitute for an investigation. It is simply one additional tool in your tool kit to assist in uncovering the truth and solving – or resolving – situations.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTSCONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The Truth is in the Words Operational Dynamic Solutions Marc Robichaud.

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