INTERVIEWS/INTERROGATING PAROLEES & EX-CONS

Many police detectives and private investigators think you can’t get any information from parolees and ex-cons.  Going one step further, many think it’s all but impossible to get them to cop out to a crime during an interrogation.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I think in many ways their the easiest to get to give it up.  The other side would argue their case this way.  Why would a guy with a 40 page rap sheet tell you anything?  My response is, if a guy is supposed to be so smart, why does he have a 40 page rap sheet!  We’re not dealing with the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler or some other master criminal.  As to giving up information, they probably respond easier than someone who is new to the criminal justice system.  Whether it’s to show off how much they know, greed, envy, revenge or self protection, you just have to find the psychological key that turns on the spigot.  I’ll give you an example. When I was a police detective, I’d go into the jail at my division everyday and see who got arrested the previous day.  I was always looking to see if anyone got arrested in the area where a major crime had recently happened.  After I cleared it with the detectives handling an individual’s specific case, I’d go in and talk to a number of arrestees to see what they knew and how they could help themselves.  This one time I gave my usual pitch to a hard core ex-con who had already been incarcerated for many years and now was looking at another long stretch.  He respectfully listened to my pitch and then said to me, “No disrespect, Detective, but I ain’t ever been a snitch, and I can do the time standing on my head!”  As a last ditch effort, I told him I respected him for that.  I then asked him if there was someone he didn’t like, maybe someone who was doing his old lady when he was in the joint.  It was like a light bulb went off in his head.  He smiled at me and said he did have somebody like that.  He gave me information on a guy that we were able to act on and make an arrest.  They’ll be times when you strikeout, but if your persistent, and keep your word to them, you’ll start making cases.