Reid Technique

Reid Technique

1. 1. The Positive Confrontation

   • The detectives confront Phillip Markoff and explain that there are various surveillance photos from hotels in Boston that depict a man of the same physical description as him, therefore he is a person of interest. The detectives explain that they are required to follow up on every tip that they receive and that they would like to ask him a few questions. The detectives state the physical similarities are light colored hair, white male, approximate age, similar height, similar build, and similar facial features (9:31-10:55; 14:57-15:18; 17:10- 17:34).

2. 4. Overcoming Objections

   • Throughout the interview, Phillip Markoff continuously states that he does not know what the detectives are talking about because he doesn't watch the news or read the newspapers. Markoff states that people his age don't usually follow the news (4:23- 4:35; 9:40- 9:56). The detective even offers that he understands as he has children of a similar age and they don't follow the news that closely either (11:41- 12:17). Markoff states multiple times that he doesn't remember what he did or were he was and that he could have walked through some of the hotel lobbies on his way to and from the Prudential Center (13:11-13:35; 16:01-16:18).

3. 6. Handling the suspect's passive mood

   • Throughout the duration of the interview, Phillip Markoff displays a passive mood which intensifies as the interview progresses. This can especially been seen when Markoff is asked to answer the same questions repetitively. At one point, the detective addresses Markoff's frustration to which Markoff replies that he "already answered this four times." The detective asks Markoff to "be patient" with him and expresses that he understands this is difficult for Markoff (34:00- 34:32).

4. 7. Presenting an alternative question

   • The detective asks Markoff if he "encountered a female in a hotel room" and states that sometimes "girls call the police if they feel they were slighted and make stuff up." Additionally, the detective encourages Markoff to confess by providing the alternative that Markoff was cheating on his fiancee and he does not want her to know. The detective encourages Markoff to explain what is going on as there are "two sides" (32:57-34:01; 38:56- 44:04).

5. 8. Having a suspect orally relate various details of the offense

   • Throughout the interview, Markoff admits to various details of the crime including that he used Craigslist for apartment searching and that he has not used Craigslist today, but that he "could've" used it as recently as yesterday, 2 weeks ago, or one month ago (27:36- 28:03; 30:33- 31:49). Markoff also notes that he has most likely walked through the hotel lobbies of the hotels were the crimes were committed (Westin and Marriot). Markoff continuously states that he frequents the Prudential Center and that he might have walked through the lobbies of those hotels during one of his visits there (13:00- 13:35; 17:10-19:56). Markoff also offers the explanation of going to restaurants/bars at or near the hotels (17:10- 19:56). These limited admissions provide that Markoff acknowledges that he was in the hotels in question, and that his Craigslist account could have been used recently.