Complex Investigation Phased Engagement Model

The Complex Investigation Phased Engagement Model (CIPEM) is a police investigative interviewing technique developed within the New Zealand Police and introduced in 2018. From 2007 the New Zealand Police had been using the PEACE model for interviewing suspects in criminal cases following international best practices. By the mid-2010s, changes in Police priorities meant that investigative interviewing was no longer treated as a priority and received less support and resources.^[1]

CIPEM was created by Detective Superintendent Tom Fitzgerald. The impetus for its development was a gap in training after the cessation of a Level 3 Suspect Interviewing course in 2016. Fitzgerald had a reputation for strong engagement with suspects and began integrating concepts from confidential human intelligence sources, emphasizing the need for effective rapport and engagement in interviews.

CIPEM was introduced to select police units beginning in 2018, with the informal approval of the Police Executive. However, the usual quality assurance, documentation, and formal training certification processes were not followed, nor was the model reviewed by external experts prior to implementation.^[2] The model was not widely available or formally embedded within the Police College, leading to its perception as an exclusive method for select officers.^[1]

CIPEM came under intense scrutiny after a 2021 High Court judgment ruled evidence inadmissible in the Lois Tolley murder case, raising media and public concern.^[3] The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) initiated a formal review, which found that flaws in implementation included informal approval, insufficient oversight, lack of expert review, and ad hoc training, all of which undermined its effectiveness;^[4] and that police interviews using CIPEM departed from best practice and did not fully comply with judicial rules.

The IPCA found CIPEM to be inconsistent with best practice and aspects of the Evidence Act 2006, describing it as sometimes “manipulative and coercive”. ^[5] Following the review by the IPCA, New Zealand Police have ceased the use of the Complex Investigation Phased Engagement Model (CIPEM) as an official interviewing technique.^[6]

Detective Superintendent Tom Fitzgerald

Detective Superintendent Tom Fitzgerald was a highly experienced senior investigator in the New Zealand Police, known for his leadership roles and investigative expertise. He headed the Police National Crime Group and the Criminal Investigation Branch, and was involved in over 100 homicide investigations during his career, including the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope in the Marlborough Sounds in 1998.^[7]

The controversy around CIPEM intensified when it was revealed that police attempted to hide internal communications related to CIPEM, and Fitzgerald made dismissive responses to legal rulings where the technique had been used. This triggered investigative reporting and public scrutiny which eventually led to the IPCA review of the model. Fitzgerald retired from the police in the midst of the controversy.^[8]

The CIPEM interview technique

The CIPEM strategy was an attempt to persuade suspects who may have been reluctant to talk to police to open up to the detectives conducting the interview. Instead of a formal police interview, suspects were introduced to scenarios described as a “fireside chat” with officers which took place with comfortable chairs, no desk and nobody taking notes. Officers would offer the suspect food or cigarettes to try and appear empathetic and understanding.^[9]

Detectives would try to engage the suspect in casual conversation, talking informally and warmly, sometimes about shared interests or non-criminal topics to make the setting feel relaxed, rather than like an interrogation. Creating a relaxed environment was an attempt to strategically lower a suspect's defenses and encourage him/her to make confessions or admissions of involvement once the conversation veered towards whatever crime was being investigated.^[10]

Collapse of Lois Tolley murder case

Lois Tolley was murdered in her home in Ward Street, Upper Hutt, on 9 December 2016. CCTV footage showed four men entering her home armed with a machete and a shotgun. After a lengthy investigation police charged three people with the murder after using CIPEM to extract a confession from one of the suspects. Over the course of three days, police coaxed a confession from the suspect that he was responsible for shooting Ms Tolley - even though his description of events did not match known facts about the crime.^[11] Justice Simon France was highly critical of how the police proceeded in the case, noting that the suspect persistently denied anything to do with Ms Tolley but that "denial was persistently rejected."^[12]

IPCA Review

Following the collapse of the case against suspects in the Lois Tolley murder case, the Independent Police Conduct Authority reviewed four other cases before making a determination on the CIPEM technique. In all five cases, the IPCA found that the questioning techniques diverged from good practice by the use of:^[1]

• Manipulative or coercive tactics such as emotional and moral appeals to pressure suspects into confessing, rather than relying on open-minded and voluntary engagement consistent with best practice.

• Leading questions or suggesting answers rather than allowing suspects to freely recall and explain, which risks contaminating responses.

• Premature rejecting of denials or alternative explanations, undermining the interviewer's impartiality and potentially pressuring suspects to conform to the investigator’s preferred narrative.

• Lack of proper balance between open-ended and closed questions, with a tendency to favor interrogative styles that constrained suspects’ responses and limited their opportunity to explain.

• Insufficient follow-up with probing or clarifying questions that would encourage deeper explanation rather than just acceptance or rejection of statements.

• Blurring of the line between obtaining relevant information and suspect interviewing, confusing intelligence gathering with evidential interviews.

These techniques collectively contributed to interviews that were not sufficiently open, fair, or compliant with the legal protections requiring voluntary and reliable statements under New Zealand's Evidence Act and Judges’ Rules on Police Questioning.^[1]

References

1. Police Investigative Interviewing and the ComplexInvestigation Phased Engagement Model (CIPEM). Independent Police Conduct Authority. May 2025
2. Police response to IPCA report into Complex Investigation Phased Engagement Model (CIPEM) interviewing method, Police Media Centre.
3. IPCA recommends Police improve investigative interviewing training, IPCA 29 May 2025
4. IPCA Recommends Police Improve Investigative Interviewing Training, Scoop, 29 May 2025
5. Lois Tolley case unravelled due to poor practice, inadequate oversight not interviewing method, review finds, RNZ, 29 May 2025
6. Controversial CIPEM police interviewing technique under fire, IPCA recommends improvements, NZ Herald, 29 May 2025
7. Controversial investigator back with police to lead career development project, NewstalkZB 13 January 2023
8. New Zealand's top police detective Tom Fitzgerald quits, RNZ, 14 October 2022.
9. Top cop intimately involved in interviews that led to false murder confession, Stuff, 21 May 2022
10. 'Unfair' interview process forced false confession, says judge, RNZ, 5 September 2022
11. White, Mike (13 June 2025), "How a Stuff investigation exposed a secret police tactic, and led to its downfall", Stuff, retrieved 11 August 2025
12. 'Unfair' interview process forced false confession, says judge, RNZ, 5 September 2022