What we learned from 2 days of police investigation and interviewing techniques with Zakon Training

Day 1: Police Investigation Workshop

Monday 27th, Malmaison on the Liverpool Docks, at 0930 hours. 

The Vision One team, alongside some invited clients, met with Simon Smith of Zakon Training, a former police murder investigator, to delve into the art of investigation and interrogation. But is it more of an art or a science? An organised two-day workshop designed to learn transferable skills, enhance our ability to investigate the truth and unlearn all our biases and preconceptions. The parallels to market research make this a unique opportunity to learn specific skills from an alternative context.

Day 1 was a murder investigation workshop, where we would work out the structure of a police investigation and be taken through it step by step. A real case, from when the Murder took place. We even had our very own courtroom.

Fuelled by coffee and pastries, the workshop began by laying out the principles of Police work and how Simon had been involved in a real, serious crime in the UK, telling chilling stories with classic lessons. It soon became serious as we had our first look at the scene of the crime and received our first case file.

What came as the biggest shock was the level of detail in these investigations, no detail too small. Every recollection is a potential thread to pull or a fabrication. We were made to look like fools with such simple questioning, nearly all of us forgetting “what were they wearing?” We were told stories of how witnesses claiming they had opened a door were the single detail that proved their testimony was false. The fire that was started would have made the door too hot to open. A staggering stat he gave was that over 50% of those who call in the crime committed it.

As we go through the case and find more evidence, people naturally start to weave narratives in their minds. While hypotheses are essential, many of us began making assumptions that led us to look more selectively for what might prove our hypotheses right, rather than seek the truth. 

Evidence revealed itself as the process went on, each bit triggering more theories and possibilities. As we progressed through the stages, finding footprints, blood, fingerprints and even the murder weapon, it was our job now to create convincing narratives based on the evidence. This is where truth and perception can often impact an investigation: the stories of the witnesses and those impacted, as well as the police themselves. 

All the perceptions and truths form a mass of information, like a sculptor’s marble block. It was our role to chip away at all the biases and perceptions to craft a finalised, perfect piece.

We set up a courtroom and questioned the CSI, Suspect, Police Caller and the Detective Sergeant. In the real case, it was open and shut. In our courtroom, the defence managed to sow enough doubt to confuse the jury into returning a not-guilty verdict. 

In marketing, the true motivations for behaviour lie hidden in a mass of data, unlocked by a vast number of opinions and perspectives. What someone says, how they rationalise their thoughts, or how they actually behave can vary drastically. A key learning was not to take these answers at face value; instead, find what lies beneath the surface and unlock them with probing, precise questions. One word in your question can influence an opposite or leading response. Perhaps it’s impossible? As researchers, it’s our job to search for the truth, but perhaps the best way is to simply find perspectives, identify influences and find the biases. To find the right answer, not in truth, but in the most effective narratives.

Day 2: Interview and Interrogation Training

Tuesday 28th, Malmaison on the Liverpool Docks, at 0930 hours. 

Day 2 was about interviews and interrogation. How can you use techniques to get the most out of witnesses and suspects? Or the public and customers. We quickly learned that memories aren’t trustworthy and that it is staggeringly difficult to recall accurate scenarios. We know instinctively this is true, but it was much worse than we all expected. It’s the same for our purchasing experiences, why we bought something and the process of buying it. It’s all inaccurate, so what can we do to probe for the truth and enhance our investigation? Corroborate stories with multiple witnesses, just like asking for multiple opinions on a product or brand.

On TV shows, it seems that having one witness is often enough evidence to secure a conviction. However, as in Market Research, the sample size is far too small to provide a truly accurate representation of a serious crime or of customer beliefs/motivations. 

Within investigations, you must gather as much evidence, probe the witnesses and remove biases so that the closest version of the truth can be found.

In marketing and research, you must find a variety of “truths” and perspectives so that you can find the most impactful narratives. There is no one reason someone buys, and they often don’t even know their “true” motivations. Which leads us to question: when it comes to marketing, perhaps it’s more about creating and finding biases that seem true than about aligning features and benefits with objective truths.