The StepWise Interview Mentoring (SWIM) Programs
The Forensic Practice (TFP) is dedicated to providing the highest quality training in investigative interviewing and other forensic topics. Our approach to training focuses on:
Providing skill-enhancing education;
Tailoring training methodology to achieve specific operational needs;
Transferring learning from the classroom to the field; and
Maximizing the return on investment for valuable training dollars.
To achieve these goals, StepWise 360 interviewing workshops were developed to provide trainees with the foundational knowledge and skills necessary to improve the quality of their investigative interviews. The StepWise Interview Mentoring (SWIM) programs were developed to support and enhance this process. Indeed, research indicates that trainees require ongoing supervision and support in order to successfully transfer the skills they learn in the classroom to actual workplace situations. Without ongoing quality assurance and performance feedback, trainees are at risk of reverting to old, ineffective, and inefficient practices; or of misapplying newly acquired skills. Not only does this reduce the cost-effectiveness of training, it also compromises staff competencies and exposes organizations to potential criticism.
SWIM programs were developed to mitigate these problems with training. They are geared towards maximizing an organization’s training output, while minimizing disruptions to its operations - which is often the largest cost associated with training. Moreover, SWIM provides an organization with an independent and objective evaluation of its investigative interview practices.
TFP offers several SWIM options:
SWIM Basic Skills program supports individuals who have completed a StepWise interview course by providing them with personalized feedback from a qualified TFP StepWise mentor. Trainees have recordings of their real-life interviews evaluated by a mentor. In this program, relatively straight forward cases are reviewed to assess the trainee’s basic interviewing skills and adherence to StepWise Guidelines. During feedback sessions, trainees learn what they did well, what they could have done better, and when they could have used different interview tools. Trainees also have the opportunity to consult with mentors on topics related to investigative interviewing (e.g., eyewitness memory, special needs populations, offending patterns), providing them with rare, individualized access to experts in the field.
SWIM Mock Interview program was developed to provide individuals with individualized feedback and coaching for contexts in which real-life interviews are not available (e.g., when interviews were not recorded in the field or when recordings cannot be released to outside agencies). In this program, participants conduct a mock interview with a qualified actor. At the conclusion of the interview, trainees receive immediate and detailed feedback from a TFP mentor about their interviewing skills. As in the basic program, they will have the opportunity to consult mentors on topics related to investigative interviewing.
SWIM Challenging Cases program is designed to support StepWise interviewers working with challenging cases (e.g., witnesses with complex needs; witness who are reluctant to disclose). In this version of the SWIM, cases, including the recorded interview(s), of particularly challenging interviews are selected for review, and feedback is given to a larger audience in the form of a case conference with co-workers and/or interviewers from other agencies. This allows for informative discussions and a question-and-answer period that can highlight best practices.
SWIM Online program was developed to provide groups the opportunity to observe, critique, and practice their interviewing skills with feedback from TFP mentors in a fun, engaging, and safe environment. This program uses team competitions, improv-based skill building games, question and answer sessions, and peer-to-peer mock interviews to help learners further develop and maintain their interviewing skills via 1.5 to 2 hour Zoom or MS Teams sessions.
SWIM Review program was designed for organizations who subscribe to individual and group SWIM programs to get feedback on their overall interviewing practices. Through the review of individual and group SWIM programs, mentors will identify patterns across interviews that point to systemic issues, some of which can be addressed via lecture and practical exercises delivered in a workshop format over one to two days, depending on the number and complexity of issues to be covered. This program allows for informative discussions and a question-and-answer period specific to the organization’s needs, as well as a review of new developments in research and interviewing techniques.
Group SWIMs can be conducted via videoconference or in person. Individual SWIMs are conducted via videoconference, teleconference, or in person. SWIM programs are suitable for new and experienced interviewers working with adults, youth, or children, who want to gain confidence in their ability to consistently and efficiently gather valid and reliable information.