SE3R was devised by Eric Shepherd. It is a technique that gives the practitioner a sound grasp of – and immediately stores in memory without any conscious effort – the fine-grain detail contained within documents – such as statements – and in verbal exchanges – typically interviews – conducted face-to-face or on the telephone, or recorded electronically. For an overview of SE3R download this PDF.
To see SE3R “in action”:
Download the Statement of Trevor Rees & SE3R pages here (This is a fictitious statement)
Because SE3R enables the rapid, comprehensive capture and analysis of fine-grain detail it reveals what really was disclosed, what was disclosed in a vague or odd manner, or not disclosed at all! Using SE3R the practitioner can make a timely response to identified issues and anomalies, e.g. through immediate probing; engaging in additional lines of enquiry; planning and preparing for a subsequent interview.
The use of SE3R has grown steadily within the UK police service and in police forces in other countries. In 1999 Eric Shepherd was invited by the UK National Crime and Operations Faculty to design an SE3R package for incorporation into the basic detective course for CID officers. Now trainee detectives attending these courses across UK have the opportunity to join their many colleagues in the police service who already have SE3R in their investigative tool kit.
- Officers attending basic, intermediate and advanced/specialist investigative interviewing courses.
- Interview advisers.
- Senior investigating officers.
- Intelligence analysts.
- Officers in major incident teams, those engaged in reviews of unsolved cases, and those investigating specialist areas of crime.
Also within the public sector SE3R is increasingly being used by practitioners in central and local government – working within assessment and investigative contexts. In the financial services sector SE3R is used by staff who process and investigate claims.
- Call-centre based claims advisers and handlers.
- Members of specialist fraud and investigation units.
- Claims assessors and investigators operating “in the field”.
These types of practitioner create ‘real time’ SE3Rs of interviews with claimants and SE3Rs of claims documentation/statements across the insurance product range.
- Motor theft.
- Motor accidents.
- Personal injury.
- Employer liability.
- Income protection (permanent health insurance).
- House and contents.
- Commercial.
In the context of financial services for travellers SE3R is used in many languages throughout the world.
SE3R is also used in the banking sector, e.g. to assist in screening for and investigating fraud across the product and service range, and in internal investigations. SE3R is increasingly being used in many countries by staff in multinationals fulfilling a number of key roles.
- Investigators.
- Security specialists.
- Compliance and anti-corruption personnel.
- Control function staff (e.g. conducting audits).
The practice of any professional or institution working with the detail of narrative detail and make critical decisions based upon fine-grain analysis benefits from using SE3R.
- Lawyers, legal staff and others – including expert witnesses – working in criminal, civil, and tribunal systems.
- Those engaged with vetting applications and staff.
- Project managers and researchers.
- Health care professionals – counsellors and psychotherapists – and academics.
Through our training and continuous commitment to development of SE3R Forensic Solutions has established SE3R an industry standard technique understood within the UK, Europe, North America and throughout the world, and applied by investigators to documents, to audio- and video-recorded interviews, and in ‘real time’ in face-to-face interviews of witnesses and suspects, to claimants and applicants in financial contexts, and in many other forms of context.
Investigators in both private and public sector contexts are now able to benefit from the development of tools that are linked to SE3R.