Improving Communication Skills in Patrol Officers: A Training Study of Evidence-based Interviewing
Article Information
Citation
Brimbal, L., Severino, M., Jones, A. M., & Rossmo, D. K. (2026). Improving communication skills in patrol officers: A training study of evidence-based interviewing. NIJ LEADS Special Issue, 36-52.
Keywords
Communication skills, rapport building, de-escalation, training evaluation, experimental design, patrol officers
Research Summary
Very little research has examined interviewing practices and their training among patrol officers. This article argues for training patrol officers in evidence-based interviewing skills and describes the results of an evaluation of such a training program.
The authors trained a sample of frontline officers in evidence-based interviewing techniques, including information about the psychological research behind investigative interviewing, good questioning practices, and rapport-building techniques. Trainees responded to knowledge, behavioral, and attitudinal questions before and after the training. The study found improved knowledge in five different areas as well as positive perceptions of the training.
The article demonstrates how a robust body of investigative interviewing research, previously applied primarily in formal interrogation settings, can be brought into patrol contexts, where most police-citizen interviews actually take place.