1. Establish the level of dominance of the suspect. Basic werewolf psychology is social, and social structure is hierarchical. Werewolves relate to each other, and to other species, by establishing their dominance or submissiveness. Every werewolf you are likely to interview will be submissive in certain situations. Some will be very submissive; others rarely so. The interviewing technique has to establish dominance over the subject in order to obtain the truth from them. The more dominant the subject is, the more techniques will have to be employed to establish dominance. Dominance is not related to intelligence, though many alphas have higher than usual intelligence, and this has to be taken into account.

2. Werewolves, like all Weres, are far more physical and less inhibited about physical contact than humans. However, dominance is also established by use of physical space and contact. Within the pack, submissive werewolves demonstrate their submission to those above them by various types of body language such as:

   • Kissing. A submissive may kiss an alpha as a sign of submission. Do not mistake this for human emotion. If a suspect kisses you during an interview it has nothing to do with sex. However, it is wiser to avoid being kissed by a werewolf of the opposite sex in order to avoid confusion with sex, or later accusations of sexual misconduct. Similarly, if the police officer conducting the interview is homosexual, he or she should avoid being kissed by a suspect of the same sex. Given the potential for later accusations of sexual misconduct, it is better, if at all possible, to prevent this sign of submission.

   • Exposing the neck or the stomach. A submissive will expose their neck to a dominant or, in extreme cases, may lay prone to expose their stomach. Again, it is better to prevent the suspect going to extreme of laying on the ground, if possible.

   • Crouching or huddling the body. In extreme cases this could include crawling towards the dominant and is usually a precursor to exposing the stomach or neck. Again, this extreme is best avoided, if possible, as counsel have been known to twist the use of such body language to gain the sympathy of the court.

3. Dominance can be established in a variety of ways, some of which are discouraged. These are:

   • Invading physical space. It is better, if possible, not to use physical contact, but rather to encroach close to the subject, either by pacing, leaning forward or by stationing oneself close to the subject, either to one side or out of the subject’s range of vision. Pacing behind the subject and letting one’s clothes touch the subject in passing are good techniques.

   • Verbal dominance, by means of aggression or higher intelligence. However, swearing and harassment should be avoided, if possible, as these may later be used by counsel in court against the officer.

   • Stroking, holding or petting the subject, if they show signs of distress. Again, care should be taken to avoid any confusion with sexual signals.

   • Staring at the subject. This is a particularly good, non-contact dominance signal. However, the courts do recognise this as harassment if the officer has been asked not to stare by the subject or the subject’s legal representative, on the grounds that it is an expression of dominance. Courts have accepted staring after warning as provocation and have been known to dismiss charges of assault against an officer on the basis of this defence.

4. Once they have made their first kill (usually around age 14-16), werewolves do not acknowledge their parentage. Even though submissives may remain living with their parents, they do not talk of them as though they are their parents. Werewolves talk of their parents in the past tense, if at all. A good interviewing technique is to force the subject to discuss his or her parents, as this will cause extreme discomfort which may help to get past the subject’s defences.

5. It should particularly be borne in mind that many werewolves carry their predilection for dominance/submission into their sexual activity, giving rise to a preference for certain sexual practices such as bondage, dominance games and even sado-masochism (BDSM). Although submissives trained in pack schools are programmed not to have sex with humans, this sexual proclivity can complicate interviews if there is any sexual attraction between the interviewer and the subject, or if the subject is very highly sexed. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD ANY OFFICER USE SEXUAL GAMES TO FURTHER AN INTERVIEW. If any such tendency on the part of the subject toward an interviewer is detected, the interview should cease and a new team of interviewers be convened.

6. All werewolves have three names: their given name and their family/hunting name (or names) are pretty much like those of humans. But, in addition, sometimes from birth they will have a “fetch name” which is only known to their family or close friends. It is a good interviewing technique to use the subject’s fetch name, if you know it or can discover it, as this effectively establishes dominance over the subject.

© Alexa Duir 2006. All Rights Reserved.