Abstract
Globally, and especially in South Africa, commercial crime is a significant problem. The 2020 PwC Global Economic Crime and Fraud Survey indicates that 77% and 60% of South African respondents experienced commercial crime in 2018 and 2020 respectively, which is significantly higher than the global average of 49% in 2018 and 47% in 2020. Commercial crime includes crimes such as money laundering, corruption, extortion, theft and fraud. Commercial Forensic Practitioners (FPs) play an important role during the process of investigating, detecting and/or preventing these crimes. Although it is crucial that FPs have a wide range of knowledge and skills in different disciplines such as accounting, information technology, law and litigation, as well as human behaviour, to perform this work, it is argued that commercial forensic interviewing (which forms part of human behaviour) is of significant importance and plays an integral part in any investigative process in order to combat commercial crime.
This study focuses only on FPs working in the private sector, since such individuals play an imperative role in combating commercial crime in South Africa and because these types of investigators have a limited mandate, and often hold a different (power) relationship with the interviewee, compared to FPs in the police. For example, FPs in the private sector do not have the power to interrogate suspects without their consent. Moreover, FPs must rely on unique interrogation techniques that create an optimal interpersonal context in which useful and reliable information is obtained.
People are complex and therefore the way in which an FP approaches the interaction with the person being interviewed (the interviewee) during the interview is very important. Although there are several commercial forensic interviewing techniques, this study focuses on the person-centred approach (PCA) of interviewing, as previous studies indicate that this interviewing technique is in accordance with South African legal prescripts, specifically the Constitution. Moreover, the PCA is non-accusatory in nature and this approach focuses on establishing facts rather than obtaining an admission of guilt or a confession at all costs, which is in line with the overall objective of the work of a FP – to independently collect reliable and useful information that may be used for legal purposes.
The theoretical underpinning of the PCA rests on Rogers’ (1951) view that a person must ‘see’ their true self through someone else’s eyes. He argues that if a person can accurately see his/her own feelings, confusions, attitudes, perceptions and ambivalences through another, this will lead to self-acceptance. This self-acceptance is known as self-actualisation and can be achieved if the FP applies the variables of the PCA, namely empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. The effective use of these three variables can support the process of establishing rapport (trust) during the commercial forensic interview (CFI), with the aim of optimising cooperation of the interviewee and obtaining useful and reliable information. Rapport can be defined as a “close and harmonious relationship” in which the FP creates circumstances during the CFI that will lead to the flow of information. By establishing rapport with the interviewee, the FP creates a relationship in which the interviewee experiences sufficient trust, respect, comfort and dignity to voluntarily participate in the interview. Consequently, the FP creates a context that promotes the acquisition of useful and reliable information.
The PCA is interpersonal, which means that the interviewer and the interviewee influence each other. To this end, the interviewer is not simply an observer, but an active participant and what he/she says and how he/she reacts has a direct influence on the interview. Since the PCA is largely applied in a therapeutic context, it is not clear what the interpersonal relationship in the commercial forensic context entails. Moreover, it is also not known what the impact is of the interviewer (the FP) and the interviewee on each other during the CFI. The objective of this study is therefore to critically discuss the interpersonal relationship in the context of CFIs, as well as to determine the impact of the FP on the interviewee (and vice versa).
Interpersonal impact occurs when the FP and interviewee enter conversation with each other and leads to a circular pattern of action and reaction, whether verbal or non-verbal. This impact is informed by critical realism which argues that reality exists on three levels: the empirical (human perceptions of the world); the actual (events as they occur in the world); and the real (causal factors that influence actions at the actual level). This means that the experiences of the FP and interviewee (impact) take place on the actual level and can be observed on the empirical level in the verbal and non-verbal messages of the respective parties.
The FP uses the variables of the PCA, namely empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard to cultivate trust, with the aim of maximising the cooperation of the interviewee, within the legal framework of South Africa to ensure that evidence is admissible in courts of law. The interviewee will only experience accurate empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard from the FP at the actual level of reality if the FP’s verbal and non-verbal communication match each other – that is, when the verbal and non-verbal communication compliment and confirm each other.
When the FP accurately applies the variables of the PCA, the FP creates a context that promotes the acquisition of useful and reliable information and therefore the interviewee is more likely to share information with the FP. This sharing of information takes place on the empirical level of reality when the interviewee communicates with the FP by means of verbal and non-verbal messages. In contrast, a FP that does not accurately reflect the variables of the PCA to the interviewee when the FP creates a context that is not conducive to the establishment of a workable interpersonal relationship. In such circumstances, the interviewee will be less willing to engage in conversation with the FP and less inclined to share reliable information with the FP.
There is a significant connection between interpersonal impact and the three main variables of the PCA. Knowledge of this can support FPs to obtain useful and reliable information during commercial forensic investigations. Raising awareness of this impact can lead to empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard being applied more effectively during interviewing by the FP, which can subsequently support the process of gathering information. However, further studies in this regard are encouraged, especially regarding the ways in which the FP can manoeuvre to consider the impact on the interviewee during the application of the PCA.
Keywords: forensic interviewing; interpersonal approach; interpersonal impact; person-centred interviewing
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