NPA Podcast with police Sgt. Jon Rappa, Interrogation Instructor, Author of Extracting the Truth
In this episode, Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith sits down with Sgt. Jon Rappa—an active law enforcement officer and nationally recognized instructor in interview and interrogation techniques. Rappa shares how personal tragedy shaped his career, breaks down the realities behind police questioning, and explains why communication—not coercion—is the most powerful tool officers have.
Key Points
- Positive interactions with detectives on the case inspired a lifelong commitment to helping victims.
- His core philosophy: “Justice is coming.”
- Hollywood portrays aggressive, high-pressure tactics.
- Reality is far different:
- Calm conversations
- Rapport-building
- Respectful communication
- Rappa emphasizes: relationship-based interviewing gets better results than confrontation.
- Every officer talks to people all day, every day
- Yet most interview training comes after becoming a detective
- Strong communication skills can:
- Improve investigations
- Strengthen cases
- Enhance officer safety
- Humans detect deception only slightly better than chance (~52%)
- Body language often reflects stress, not necessarily guilt
- Focus should be on:
- Conversation flow
- Information gathering
- Behavioral context
- Critical for officer safety (e.g., detecting flight or aggression)
- Useful for identifying reactions during searches
- Less important than communication during formal interviews
