No rapport, no comment: The relationship between rapport and communication during investigative interviews with suspects

There are few studies that have focused on systematically measuring indicators of rapport during police investigative interviews. Using Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal’s (1990) model as the basis for a systematic measurement of rapport, this study examined police interviews to identify whether rapport with suspects influences investigation relevant information (IRI). Eighty-two interview transcripts with male suspects accused of child internet sex offences were coded across three rapport components: attention, positivity, and coordination. Attention and coordination were the most frequently used and both positively correlated with the production of information. Positivity did not significantly correlate with IRI. The interviews were broken down into three different stages to examine the relationship between the rapport indicators and IRI across the interviews. Attention related to IRI throughout the entire interview, coordination during the middle and end, and positivity did not relate to IRI for any of the time points. This study offers a methodology for measuring rapport during real life interviews and implications for interviewing and training are discussed.