Which option appropriately describes investigative interviewing style?

• A. Asking leading questions to obtain admissions
• B. Conducting an interrogation with coercion
• C. Refraining from interviewing witnesses
• D. Using non-leading, non-coercive questioning to gather information

Answer: (D)

Investigative interviewing relies on gathering information without shaping or pressuring the person’s account. Using non-leading, non-coercive questioning lets witnesses and others describe events in their own words, which helps memory stay accurate and reduces the risk of false or biased responses. This approach is consistent with standard interview practices that emphasize open-ended questions, listening, and careful documentation rather than pushing a person to say what the investigator expects. Leading questions can bias what someone recalls or reports, and coercive interrogation can produce unreliable admissions and raise legal and ethical concerns. Leaving crucial information uncollected by avoiding interviews only creates gaps in the facts. So, asking non-leading, non-coercive questions to gather information is the appropriate way to conduct an investigative interview.