After graduating from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and becoming a trial lawyer, James A. Ardaiz quickly rose to the ranks of chief deputy district attorney. During those years, he interrogated hundreds of hardened criminals and murderers. It’s safe to say that he is an expert on homicide and criminal psychology.
From 1974 to 1980, Ardaiz was a deputy district attorney prosecuting homicide cases in Fresno County. At age 32, he attained the title of Justice James Ardaiz and served as a California state judge from 1980 until his retirement in 2011. In his book “Hands Through Stone: How Clarence Ray Allen Masterminded Murder From Behind Folsom’s Prison Walls,” he describes what it’s like to be in a homicide investigation, what a crime scene really looks like, and what a murder truly involves. He addresses what goes on during an interrogation, the impact on the people who work these cases, and what prosecutors have to deal with.
In an interview with Brain World, he explained how the criminal mind works, and how experienced interrogators see through the criminal’s lies to unravel the truth.
Culture And Crime
Not all criminals are created equal, nor indeed are all crimes. In order for law-enforcement officials to be able to see through the lies of someone who has committed a crime — as the suspect is trying to talk his way out of it — knowing the background of that individual is key. “The criminal mind works on a number of different levels,” says Ardaiz. “Of course, there are the psychotics and the sociopaths, but most of the people you deal with don’t fall into that category. Their value system depends upon the culture that they come from.” When it comes to gangs, for instance, the rules suddenly change completely.
“Criminals usually have a completely different value system than the average person in terms of what is acceptable or even laudable conduct,” Ardaiz explains. “We have families, unfortunately, that are dysfunctional and in which violence becomes the reaction that most people have to accommodating problems. So, when you deal with a person in terms of an interrogation, you’re looking to see psychologically what kind of a person you’re dealing with. Am I dealing with a person who made a mistake and is very frightened by their situation? If so, I use that fear to obtain the information that I need.”
Gender also matters. “There’s no difference between men and women when it comes to intelligence, but they do think differently. And so, when you sit down with a woman, you wouldn’t use the same kind of physical presence that you might use with a man. With a woman, you need to take a less aggressive approach, keeping your voice modulated and trying to get them to talk.” The whole key to interrogation, he says, is to get people to talk, and you really don’t care what they say as long as they just keep talking. “Almost always, they will lie, and you let them lie, and then you begin to pick the lies.”
In fact, this need to keep people talking is why so-called soft skills like communication are so important for police officers. People tend to assume that physical attributes are what makes the best law enforcement officer — but that usually is not the case. In reality, police officers need excellent communication skills to navigate most interactions they have with possible criminals — either on the street or during an interrogation.
When a police officer approaches a scene and talks to witnesses, they need to be able to connect with them — and make people feel comfortable enough to give an account of what happened. Police officers have to deal with people from all walks of life. During an interrogation, they need the suspect to feel that the officer identifies with them. Through their training, an officer can get that suspect to open up and keep talking long enough — so that they can then unpack their lies and draw out the truth. If an officer doesn’t have those skills, the suspect will shut down and the interrogation will go nowhere.
