FLESH WILL NEVER CONFESS

(Why people do what they don't want to do)

Some may be reading this book and say, "I thought this was a book about police interviews; I didn't know we were going to church." Please let me first explain the order of things. The scientists and engineers of NASA had to fully understand the invisible laws of gravity before they designed the first visible plan for a rocket to reach space. I am starting with that which is invisible, so you can clearly understand that which is visible and make it work.

Most people have heard of the "Holy Trinity" of God. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Trinity means "three in unity" so God is all three, but he is still one God. We as people are created in his image, so we are designed in the same way. We were created as a human trinity, three-in-one just like God. We are made up of a body, a spirit, and a soul. Our body (flesh) always has a desire to satisfy itself and serve its own agenda. It wants to rest, it wants to eat, it wants to drink, and it wants to have sex. None of these things are bad unless we let our body (flesh) control our lives and pursue the fleshly desires with excess. This is why in our society today we see slothful sleepers, binge eaters, drug abusers, alcoholics, and sex maniacs. Some people abuse these things and go beyond moderation.

The second part of a human being is our spirit. God instilled inside every person a spirit that has a passion for the purpose of God. Our spirit is always trying to connect with the Holy Spirit. This is why people have a conscience to know the difference between good and evil. Without anyone ever teaching a person to do so, the spirit will naturally pursue that which is good and that which is from God. Even an atheist can appreciate the beauty of a tree or a sunset; even though they deny God, their true passion is for the Creator of the tree and the sunset. Life is more than a heartbeat and a brain wave; it is the passion to pursue something good. The Declaration of Independence describes it best as "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." The reason that people choose to do bad things is that they are not led by a spirit that pursues God but are led by their fleshly desires. The Bible says in Galatians 5:16 (HCSB), "Walk by the spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."

The last part of the human being is our soul, which is made up of the mind, will, and emotion. We think, feel, and draw our opinions from our soul. Inside of the human body is a daily and constant tug-of-war struggle for the soul of a human being. The flesh wants to satisfy itself so pulls on the soul to follow it. The spirit wants to pursue good and Godly things, so it pulls on the soul to follow it as well. The soul is caught in the middle so it can be pulled in either direction with different agendas. King David understood this concept thousands of years ago as he spoke out in the scriptures at Psalm 103:1 (NKJV), "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His Holy Name." David was literally telling his soul to submit and draw close to God.

To be successful at interviews and interrogations in seeking the truth, every law enforcement officer must pull on the soul (mind, will, and emotion) of a person. It's not hard once you use God given principles found in the Holy Bible. God revealed how to detect deception and how to seek the truth in an interview. If we follow God's strategy, we will pick up signals, much like a lie detector, when a suspect is being deceptive and truth is being hidden and held back.

As you interview a person, understand that flesh will never confess because it does not benefit the flesh to confess. In other words, a body does not want to be locked up in a steel jail cell or eat cold prison food. The body (fleshly desires) will always attempt to pull the soul away from the truth of a confession. Jesus plainly says in Mark 14:38 (HCSB), "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." Confession comes from the soul (mind, will, and emotion) of a person which was influenced by the spirit. We, as the interviewer, are simply a tour guide to direct and influence people to move their soul from faulty thinking to truthful thinking.

HOW ARE YA IN HAWAII?

(How to manage & maintain the interview)

All newly arriving Houston Homicide Detectives are expected to go through a series of classes to help with investigation and interrogation skills. One memorable class taught newly assigned investigators how to work in the interview room with the greatest chance of success. Houston has up-to-date interview rooms where the room has been soundproofed, video-equipped, and wired for sound. The police interview room is the best place to record a verbal conversation in private without outside influence. Some detectives preferred using written confessions in their cases, but written documents have lost some credibility in recent years in the courtroom. Even a half-hearted defense attorney will dispute the written confession by their client and say that it was created through water boarding or some other instrument of torture. If a suspect insist on writing his confession out, video the event of the actual document as the suspect reads it and signs it. Many suspects have had buyer's remorse; so claimed that they were forced to sign their name to a blank sheet of paper, and the confession was printed on the paper after they left the police station.

I learned years ago from top-notch Homicide Detectives that the video interview room is the investigators stage and the jury can be the suspense-filled audience. This boring and boxy room is where the investigator creates his finest masterpieces in police work. This is the place where the suspect is most likely to cave-in and confess to his crime because he is alone with his soul and the soul searcher, which is you. The event of the private video interview usually has the greatest shot at success. However, all distractions and attractions must be removed from the room. The ideal interview room must have no windows or view of the outside world. The ideal interview room must have no pictures, photos, decorations, or any...