About EBI
All EBI courses are instructed by subject matter experts who are career law enforcement professionals.
EBI is a research-based, conversational, interview philosophy. It is designed to elicit accurate and actionable information from an interviewee.
The EBI interview is tailored to an individual’s unique personality in order to induce instrumental problem solving. It begins with creating an atmosphere that encourages an interviewee to share what is most important to them and to talk at their own pace. This open narrative is then followed by the use of clarification questions, specific “tracer round” questions and the strategic introduction of evidence. The EBI philosophy focuses on gaining accurate information and corroboration, with confession being a by-product of the successful conversation.
EBI is consistent with the findings contained in the September 2016 High Value Detainee Interrogation Group report titled, Interrogation: A Review of the Science.
EBI In Depth
The EBI Philosophy
The key to gaining information is empathetically understanding the subject’s personality and motivation.
The interviewer’s actions are then uniquely tailored to the interviewee.
Interrogation is not a confrontation but a conversation designed to gain actionable intelligence.
Actionable intelligence is based on obtaining accurate information and corroboration from the subject.
The primary goal of an interrogation is actionable intelligence with confession being a byproduct.
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Successfully gaining accurate information from a subject does not involve a “one size fits all” approach. Understanding the subject’s personality through behavioral analysis allows the interviewer to customize the interview atmosphere, strategy, and conversation thereby increasing the likelihood of obtaining actionable information. Research has shown that successful interviewers use empathy and a personality-focused approach to keep their subjects talking.
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Gaining information from a subject requires creating an instrumental problem-solving environment. One of the key factors in creating this environment is the atmosphere. The atmosphere encompasses the physical setting, emotional context, and sensory aspects.
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Pre-determined interview “steps” and confrontational questioning often creates either an antagonistic or avoidant response from the subject. Research has shown that this type of interview process, especially with a subject that displays an avoidant response, may become coercive, thereby potentially resulting in a false confession.
On the other hand, research has shown that a conversational process, designed to maximize cooperative instrumental problem-solving, results in gaining more accurate information. EBI is designed to create a dialogue between the interviewer and the subject in which the interviewer assesses the subject’s level of cooperation and resistance. The interviewer then uses active listening skills to gain information from the subject through a collaborative process.
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In many law enforcement interrogations, obtaining a confession, may be an unachievable goal for a number of reasons. Historically, investigators have focused heavily on obtaining admissions of guilt rather than corroboration.
Shifting the focus of the conversation to gaining corroboration potentially creates a multi-faceted foundation for your prosecutor. This foundation is built on information from the interview that corroborates timelines, evidence, and witness and victim statements. Since the focus has shifted from a single point regarding guilt to multiple points corroborating the investigation, the prosecutor may have a stronger case.
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Law enforcement creates operational plans for numerous actions, such as the execution of search or arrest warrants, undercover operations, and surveillances. Yet rarely do we have a detailed plan or strategy to conduct a subject interview.
A plan is specifically designed to increase your odds of success. In the case of a subject interview, success is measured by the amount of actionable information gained that furthers an investigation. The EBI Ops Plan is tailored to the subject and incorporates factors such as personality assessment, resistance assessment, conversation points, corroboration points, question risk assessment, and strategic use of evidence.
