Abstract

This talk initially explores an interaction between an official and a foreign national seeking to secure a visa so that they can enter another country. The aim in so doing is threefold: (1) to discuss how stress-inducing such interactions can be, thereby problematising deception detection; (2) the potential for assessing deception nonetheless, using methods such as the Six Channel Analysis in Realtime (SCAnR); and (3) the viability of Behavioural Detection Officers (BDOs), Air Marshals (AMs) and other airport personnel using “small talk” as a strategic tool for determining whether someone constitutes a Person of Interest requiring further surveillance (by them/others) and/or more formal/official questioning (by others in order to establish potential deception, malintent, etc). (full abstract)

CV

Dawn Archer is a Professor of Pragmatics and Corpus Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her passion is to see linguistic knowledge and insights being used for the good of society/in non-academic contexts. Her consultancy work has seen her training airport personnel (with the EIA Group) and developing training materials for UK Police Crisis Negotiators. She is also the “Listener” on the Discovery/Warner Bros show, Faking It: Tears of A Crime (now in its seventh series).