Police get new clues to spot villains

Simon Baker of <i>The Mentalist</i> knows what odd behaviour to look for. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand police could soon be catching criminals using techniques made famous by television crimefighters.

Body language and facial expressions are often a giveaway and will betray a person during questioning at routine traffic stops, says commercial vehicle investigator Senior Sergeant Phil Critchley.

He has returned from Melbourne where he learned all the tricks for spotting lying criminals, many of which are regularly employed on television shows such as The Mentalist and Lie to Me.

Mr Critchley was among more than 300 officers taught to use "the powers of observation" to spot signs that something is amiss.

The Canadian-designed programme trains officers to notice how actions such as a person touching their nose or ears show nervousness and the possibility they have something to hide.

Mr Critchley said a member of the public stopped for a traffic offence was usually quite nervous but would rapidly calm down.

But the pulse rate of an offender feeling anxious would continue to be rapid and could be observed in the neck.

A person who was sticking their jaw out, or clenching and unclenching their fists, may become violent.

The concept has contributed to the seizure of almost $4 billion worth of illegal items since its 1994 launch.

It has also been used to find escaped prisoners and illegal immigrants, and to find missing children.

In Australia, the training has been crucial in investigators seizing marijuana, Ecstasy, cash, pirated DVDs, illegal fireworks and fake identification. Mr Critchley said the programme was like going back to basics.

"When I first started we had a lot more time and there were less vehicles on the road. It's a matter of now being able to spend a bit more time when we stop a vehicle ... than what we have in the past."

The programme had taught him: "Don't accept something that's out of the normal just as being normal.

"The one common thread will be the conversation you initiate with the subject. Often they will have a rehearsed story."

One case in which the techniques paid off involved a routine truck stop in Canada.

Officers determined that the cost of carrying the furniture across the country far exceeded the cost of buying the items new.

When officers subsequently inspected the load they found drawers and cabinets stuffed with drugs.

Mr Critchley is writing a paper about how the programme could be used in this country.

LIE TO ME

A combination of ways to spot a criminal:

* Feet pointing away from the police officer - about to run away.

* Jaw jutting out - about to become violent.

* Fists clenching and unclenching - about to punch someone.

* Rubbing or touching nose - nervous behaviour, hiding something.

* Playing with hair or moustache - nervous behaviour, hiding something.

* Tugging or covering ears - nervous behaviour, hiding something.

* Patting cheeks - nervous behaviour, hiding something.

* Picking lint from clothes - nervous behaviour, hiding something.

* Racing pulse in neck - nervous behaviour, hiding something.