Interrogation

Catalog description

Broadly defined as "the use of human beings to collect or confirm information through overt, covert, or clandestine methodologies," human intelligence (HUMINT) gathering is an essential component in military, national security, and law enforcement contexts. This course will begin with situating HUMINT in the broader intelligence cycle and to understand the critical role of intelligence analysis. The course will then focus on the more overt form of HUMINT collection where information, intelligence, and/or admissions are elicited from targets, subjects, or suspects. In common parlance, seeking information for tactical or strategic purposes, or to lead to arrest and prosecution, is referred to as interrogation, and the interrogation tactics, techniques, and procedures from the Army Field Manual, law enforcement manuals and elsewhere will be thoroughly reviewed for their effectiveness. The course will also cover the ethical issues related to HUMINT, including torture, and introduce the emerging practice of "investigative interviewing" as an alternate model to accusatory and coercive interrogation.