The Mindful Interview Method

Gil Zamora retired from the San Jose Police Department in 2011 as the police artist. During his time there, he interviewed well over 3,000 eyewitnesses to crimes ranging from indecent exposure to murder. He was certified in the FBI Composite Art technique in 1993 and apprenticed with renowned police artist, Tom Macris, from 1992 - 1995. He developed his own interview methodology, Compositure (1998), based on the cognitive interview technique and focused on the elimination of post event information to stimulate eyewitness memory. His interview technique led him to help solve several hundreds of investigations in the Bay Area and testify as an expert forensic artist in various criminal court cases. Mr. Zamora was a senior instructor (from 2000 - 2014) in the cognitive interview technique and trained investigators throughout the state of California in advance interview techniques certified by P.O.S.T. He provided annual training for SJPD investigators coming into the bureau to inform them about forensic art resources to help in their investigations. Mr. Zamora is a frequent speaker at local universities, victim advocacy groups, and law enforcement agencies.