Extracting the Truth: Advanced Interview and Interrogation Course

Dates: March 24-25, 2027

Location: Washington County Sheriff's Office, 1155 W. Clydesdale Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72701

Cost: $325.00

Instructor: Jon Rappa

Course Overview

This advanced training program merges evidence-based investigative interviewing techniques with a rapport-focused, empathy-driven methodology that avoids unnecessary confrontation. Participants will learn a structured, scientifically-supported approach tailored to modern law enforcement challenges, designed to yield more reliable and consistent results in the field.

While the program does not center on confession-seeking, it recognizes that admissions and confessions can be valuable components of certain investigations. When appropriate, instructors teach proper methods for obtaining such statements ethically and effectively.

What Sets This Training Apart

• Authentic, Realistic Training: Instruction incorporates videos of instructors conducting actual interviews rather than internet-sourced clips, ensuring relevance to real law enforcement situations
• Instruction by Active Professionals: Experienced law enforcement officers who actively employ these techniques in their current roles deliver the training, ensuring practical applicability to contemporary investigative work
• Field-Tested Methodologies: Strategies have been successfully applied across diverse investigative scenarios, from theft cases to domestic violence and homicide investigations
• Hands-On, Practical Focus: Participants develop actionable, practical skills for gathering reliable information in any interview or interrogation context

Topics Covered

• Non-Confrontational Interview Techniques
• Interview Preparation
• Preventing False Confessions
• Relationship-Focused and Rapport-Building Approaches
• Timeline Development
• Gathering Additional Information
• Strategic Evidence Introduction
• Empathy-Based Interviewing Methods
• Truth-Seeking Practices
• Research-Supported Strategies

Whether you work as an investigator, patrol officer, or detective, this course will enhance your interviewing skills and help you become your agency's most effective interviewer.