Trickeration or It Ain't trickin' if ya got it

I have friends past and present in different areas of law enforcement and it is always fun to talk to them about different aspects of their job. One area I really enjoy quizzing them about is the investigative side. Especially their techniques in talking to people who are hostile and actively trying to lie about something.

A favorite of theirs is when doing a street contact, like rolling up on a bum or suspicious person or whatever is to call them a fictitious name. Right off the bat. The person either agrees and you know they are instantly being deceptive or they protest they are not "fred johnson" or whatever name.

The officer then goes on to insist they are indeed "fred johnson" and to also now start accusing them of some sort of petty crime. In the suspect's desire now to avoid being penalized in the name of someone else they often give up their real identity under this type of duress. And thus by your own means of deception initially you get to a truth they were hiding. You get the idea. Accuse someone of something else to find out what they are really up to.

In my job part of what I do is ask medical histories and questions relevant to the protocol of whatever test they are having with me. Often this means no food that day and no caffeine within the past 24 hours. Also I need to know their weight for some different drug administrations.

But it is the breakfast and morning coffee they are hiding that I want to find about, if they'd had those things then I can't do their test and if I do it will be worthless. My schpiel often goes something like this:

"announce patient name in waiting room"
"Good morning, my name is Rowdy and I'll be helping you with your test today."
more random pleasantries. Check their birth date, ask them their weight and ttthhheenn have them stand on a scale. Just out of my perverse desire to let them see how much they under guessed.

As I explain the test and my role in it I then ask, "So what did you have for breakfast today?" HA! I catch people with this all the time! They start to reel off what breakfast was, then catch themselves and then try to minimize the amount of what they ate and or drank. Too late, the truth is out.

Too bad, soo sad. Time to reschedule and be honest with me next time. And in control of your inability to go 4 hours without eating.