Latest news with #interviewing
RNZ News
29-05-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Lois Tolley case unravelled due to poor practice, inadequate oversight not interviewing method, review finds
Police Commissioner Richard Chambers. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro The police watchdog has found police questioning that resulted in accusations of false confessions was due to poor practice and inadequate oversight, not a controversial interviewing method. In 2021, the High Court ruled evidence in the Lois Tolley murder case was inadmissible because of issues with the way the man was interviewed, with the judge likening the interviewing method to a " cosy fireside chat ". The man's charges were subsequently dropped after the Crown case unravelled. The Independent Police Conduct Authority launched a review after receiving multiple complaints, finding that the model was not properly implemented and officers did not receive enough support to use it. The Complex Investigation Phased Engagement Model, which was introduced in 2018, was heavily focused on engagement skills and building rapport. Before it came along, the Authority found police interviewing skills were generally poor and officers lacked confidence. The review said the new interviewing model was "a laudable attempt to bridge the gap", but the normal processes for quality assurance and implementing the training were not followed and it was not reviewed by an independent expert until roughly two-and-a-half years after it was rolled out. The Authority examined five cases as part of its review, finding the questioning itself did not follow good practice or follow the Judges' Rules on Police Questioning in two of them. "However, these failures were generally not integral to (the model) and were due to poor practice and inadequate oversight." It found police leadership should have done more to support officers and proactively correct the perception that the interviewing model alone caused the downfall of the failed murder prosecution. The review found that while the police executive approved the use of the interviewing techniques, that approval appeared to be given informally and was not properly documented or signed off. It noted that police were addressing the problem, including a recent review recommending the creation of a new role to improve interviewing training. Lois Tolley, 30, was killed at her Wallaceville home in 2016. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police The Authority recommended that police set up the new role investigative interviewing manager to develop new investigative interviewing and engagement training and making it available to all staff, ensure interviewing trainers have the necessary operational experience and skills, and create a high level training for interviewing suspects and hostile witnesses. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said police accepted the findings and the recommendations were being implemented. He apologised to the staff involved when the interviewing method came under fire, saying they should have been better supported. The programme was implemented with the knowledge and support of its leaders and staff involved acted in good faith to improve an acknowledged gap in interviewing, Chambers said. "While there are lessons to be learned for police, the staff involved displayed passion and dedication in working to try to advance difficult and complex cases," he said. The murder case interview was subject to an independent review which found that those involved were brought in to conduct the interview phase only and were not involved in making key decisions relevant to progressing the investigation. "In these circumstances, it would be both wrong and unfair for conclusions to be drawn that these staff were to blame for the charges being withdrawn," Chambers said. The police had internally reviewed the way it led, reviewed and managed serious crime investigations as well as commissioning a broad review on interviewing practices. Both sets of recommendations were being implemented and police expected to recruit the new manager in the coming weeks, he said. "Engaging with and interviewing victims, witnesses and suspects is a core policing skill and pivotal to advancing all investigations and other aspects of policing. "The police executive is committed to ensuring that NZ Police's interviewing training programme is world leading." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Times
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
David Frost Vs… Richard Nixon — how an Aesop's fable undid Tricky Dicky
I think I could watch the young David Frost all day, one arm louchely flung over the back of his chair, long-lashed bloodhound eyes locked intently on his interviewee's face. Contemplative and measured, his style is an antidote to the shouty 'gotcha' interviewing that you often see today. In Frost Vs… Richard Nixon, which kicked off the second part of Sky Documentaries' David Frost Vs… series (it started in February), we obviously saw the 'long game' strategy at its height. As we all know, over 28 hours in 1977 he cajoled, befriended, wrongfooted and finally brought to heel the defensive, circumlocutory and arrogant 'Tricky Dicky'. Frost compared it to Aesop's fable The North Wind and the Sun in which no matter how hard the
