3 Full Training Days
Intro to Science-Based Interviewing
Legal. Ethical. Relentless for the Truth.
Duration
3 Days
Certification
Format
In Person
Overview
Science-Based Interviewing (SBI) is a POST-certified training course that equips law enforcement investigators with evidence-backed techniques to conduct more effective, ethical, and legally defensible interviews. Developed from decades of peer-reviewed research in cognitive psychology, behavioral science, and deception detection, SBI replaces outdated coercion-based methods with structured, science-driven protocols proven to elicit more accurate and reliable information.
This course is designed for investigators, detectives, patrol officers, and allied public safety professionals who conduct witness, victim, or suspect interviews. Whether you are building your interviewing skills from the ground up or looking to align your current practice with modern research standards, SBI provides the tools, frameworks, and practical training needed to elevate your craft.
Participants leave this training with a clear, repeatable interviewing framework grounded in cognitive load theory, memory science, and behavioral indicators — skills applicable immediately in the field.
Most investigators walk into an interview with experience and instincts. That’s not enough anymore. Coercion-based tactics get cases thrown out. False confessions end careers. Science-Based Interviewing gives you something better — a structured, research-backed system that gets more truth, holds up in court, and makes you the most dangerous thing in that room: a professional who knows exactly what they’re doing.
Seminar Highlights
- The Science Behind the Interview — Understand how memory actually works under stress, how cognitive load reveals deception, and why the old coercion-based playbook creates more problems than it solves.
- A Framework That Holds Up — Walk away with a structured, step-by-step interview process that is repeatable, defensible, and applicable to witnesses, victims, and suspects alike.
- Behavioral Analysis Without the Guesswork — Learn what the research actually says about verbal and non-verbal indicators — and stop relying on myths that defense attorneys dismantle in minutes.
- The Cognitive Interview Method — Applied techniques rooted in memory science that consistently produce more accurate, more detailed accounts from cooperative subjects.
- Legal & Ethical Standards, Built In — Every technique taught in SBI is designed to survive suppression hearings, internal review, and public scrutiny — because the method is the protection.
- Live Scenario Practice — You don’t just learn the system. You run it. Small-group exercises with real-time feedback from instructors who’ve worked the cases.
- Documentation That Defends Itself — How to capture what happened in the room in a way that supports prosecution and survives challenge.
Course Agenda
Instructors
Nuno Tavares
Science-Based Interviewing Instructor
View Bio
Nuno Tavares
Nuno Tavares retired as a lieutenant from the Placer County District Attorney's Office after a 27-year career in law enforcement. During his tenure, he held various positions, including assignments to narcotics and auto theft task forces, crimes against persons, and cold-case homicides. Throughout his career, Nuno received multiple commendations, including Investigative Excellence awards from both the International Homicide Investigators Association and the California Robbery Investigators Association, as well as recognition for Excellence in Instruction from the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). Nuno currently serves as a POST instructor and frequently speaks at homicide conferences. He also works as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego and holds a Master's degree from Saint Mary's College.
Rhiannon Grotke
Science-Based Interviewing Instructor
View BioRhiannon Grotke
Rhiannon Grotke is a District Attorney Investigator at the El Dorado County District Attorney's Office. She has worked in law enforcement since 2005 and has held positions as Sheriff's Dispatcher, Patrol Officer, Bailiff, Field Training Officer, Crisis Negotiation Team Leader, Detective, Child Forensic Interview Specialist, and Child Advocacy Center Coordinator. She holds specialty certificates in Child Abuse and Homicide Investigations. Rhiannon has been a practitioner of Science-Based Interviewing (SBI) since 2020 and has been coaching and instructing SBI courses with California POST's ICI SBI program while helping develop SBI curriculum throughout California.
Monty "Max" Maxwell
Science-Based Interviewing Instructor
View BioMonty "Max" Maxwell
Max has over 30 years of law enforcement experience, 28 of them with the Sacramento Police Department. The majority of his career was in investigations, with a focus on Narcotics, Felony Assaults, Gang Homicide, Firearms, Undercover Operations, and Surveillance. He instructs for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, California POST ICI, Los Rios College District, and CNOA. He retired as a Detective Sergeant from Sacramento P.D. in December 2023. In October 2024 he went to work for the El Dorado County DA's Office as a Criminal Investigator.
Tom Ropel
Science-Based Interviewing Instructor
View BioTom Ropel
Dr. Thomas Ropel is a retired FBI Special Agent with 21 years of experience in counterterrorism, behavioral analysis, and science-based interviewing. A former Marine Corps officer, he served on the Joint Terrorism Task Force and was a lead interrogator with the U.S. High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group. Dr. Ropel conducted investigations in over 35 countries and trained law enforcement worldwide. He holds a Ph.D. in International Psychology and is now a Criminal Justice Professor at Vanguard University, where he teaches courses on terrorism, interrogation, and cultural communication.
Testimonials
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“What I liked best were the videos, and the information regarding Miranda was especially valuable. This class is awesome — I think you need to push very hard to make SJPD make this interview and interrogation course mandatory for officers and detectives around the 3+ year mark. Preliminary investigations would be so much more successful and beneficial to BOI investigators. This is an excellent course.”
“What I liked best were the Miranda scenarios and discussions. The Instructors are professionals who have more combined experience than most agencies. They are passionate about this subject and make the course and material fun. I feel like you could take this class 100 times and still learn something new each time.”
“Matt and Will are some of the best instructors I've had the opportunity to train with: genuine, forthright, concise, and they can back it all up with experience. My second course with them, and I can't wait for a third!”
“What I liked best was the wide variety of fraud-related examples and the proper procedures for investigating them — and it was not Death by PowerPoint. This course is perfect for new detectives and patrol officers wanting to learn more about fraud investigations.”
“What I liked best was watching real-life videos (body cams) and determining what, if any, warrants could be issued. I also found it very helpful that the instructor was very patient and very willing to help with writing the practice warrants. I really enjoyed his positive attitude in teaching new officers like myself how to write a warrant effectively by using the Hobbs.”
“Your class was one of the most impactful trainings I've attended. I learned new skills, best practices, and had a few revelations about myself. Your level of preparation, commitment, and professionalism was excellent.”
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