Training for Fire Investigation Professionals
Interviewing of persons involved in a fire is central to the successful resolution of an investigation. As a result, the highest standards of investigative interviewing should be upheld. Without the information from those who have witnessed an important event, other sources of material such as CCTV images, source of ignition evidence, fingerprints, and forensic material – although extremely important – may have little value. In some cases, the first on-scene fire fighter may have been the only person to encode details about the scene. Physical corroboration may be entirely absent – thus making investigative interviewing (of witnesses but also fire fighters) even more important whilst investigating fires.
Dr. Sarah MacDonald will provide customized training that will enhance your ability to make consequential decisions, successfully resolve cases, and ultimately reduce your organization's volume of unconfirmed fires. She uses evidence-based information gathering approaches, findings from scientific literature addressing arson and fire-starting behaviour, and credibility assessment tools to develop effective interviewing skills for Investigators.
In brief, some of the benefits to this training include:
Dr. Sarah MacDonald will provide customized training that will enhance your ability to make consequential decisions, successfully resolve cases, and ultimately reduce your organization's volume of unconfirmed fires. She uses evidence-based information gathering approaches, findings from scientific literature addressing arson and fire-starting behaviour, and credibility assessment tools to develop effective interviewing skills for Investigators.
In brief, some of the benefits to this training include:
- Understanding the psychology of arson behaviour
- Understanding the science and psychology of youth fire-starters
- Understanding components of memory, how memory works, how false memories are created
- Enhancing skills for rapport building and active listening
- Improving questioning techniques and note taking skills
- Learning conversation management tools to communicate with uncooperative individuals
- Learning to obtain reliabile information from children as young as 4 years old
- Understanding the psychology of lying
- Becoming familiar with false (but commonly believed) cues to deception
- Obtaining an understanding of scientific behavioural cues associated with deceit