Wicklander-Zulawski (WZ) technique
Definition
A non-confrontational interview method widely used in private-sector fraud investigations. The interviewer builds rapport, presents the evidence indirectly, rationalises the subject's behaviour, and invites a disclosure rather than demanding a confession. Reduces the risk of false admissions and legal challenge compared to direct confrontation.
Related terms
- Cognitive interview
- A structured witness interview technique developed by Geiselman and Fisher that uses four retrieval aids: mental reinstatement of context, reporting everything without...
- Miranda warning (US)
- The required pre-interrogation caution under US constitutional law (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966), notifying a person in custodial police interrogation of the right...
- PEACE model
- A structured interview framework used by UK law enforcement and increasingly by private investigators: Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure,...
- Rationalisation
- In the context of the fraud triangle, the mental justification a perpetrator uses to excuse fraudulent conduct. In interviewing, rationalisation is used...
- Voluntary admission
- A statement made by a subject of their own free will, without coercion, inducement, or improper promise. Voluntary admissions are legally significant:...
Explained in
- Interviewing Suspects and Witnesses in Fraud ExaminationsA non-confrontational interview method widely used in private-sector fraud investigations. The interviewer builds rapport, presents the evidence indirectly, ra...