Investigative interviewing

PEACE / TED (TEDS / TED PIE) police meaning

Investigative interviewing framework. A quick, source-backed reference for the UK policing mnemonic PEACE.

Short answer

The non-accusatory, information-gathering framework for all victim, witness and suspect interviews; part of basic instruction for all police officers in England and Wales. TED and 5WH questioning sit inside its Account phase.

Legal anchor: PACE 1984 Codes C and E govern the conduct/recording of suspect interviews under this model

PEACE
PACE 1984 Codes C and E govern the conduct/recording of suspect interviews under this model
PPreparation and planning
EEngage and explain
AAccount, clarification, challenge
CClosure
EEvaluation

When officers use it

The non-accusatory, information-gathering framework for all victim, witness and suspect interviews; part of basic instruction for all police officers in England and Wales. TED and 5WH questioning sit inside its Account phase.

Practical point: the mnemonic is a memory aid, not the test. Decisions still turn on the live facts and the underlying law (PACE 1984 Codes C and E govern the conduct/recording of suspect interviews under this model) — record your rationale, not just the letters.

Variants and spellings

Some sources render A as just 'Account'.

TED (TEDS / TED PIE) — Open-prompt questions for witness/suspect accounts (PEACE model)

Open-ended prompt stems used in the Account phase of the PEACE investigative interview model to obtain uninterrupted free recall before probing with 5WH questions. The extended 'TEDS PIE' pairs each stem with Precisely / In detail / Exactly.

TED (TEDS / TED PIE)
TTell (me...)
EExplain (to me...)
DDescribe (to me...)
SShow (me...) — TEDS variant only
Note: Base UK form is TED; TEDS adds Show; PIE (Precisely, In detail, Exactly) is the pairing extension. College APP references TED but blocked direct fetch (403).

Why Section includes this

Section is a fast UK police reference app for officers and student officers: offences, points to prove, PACE powers and the standard mnemonics in one offline place. Every entry in the app — including this one — was verified against the sources listed below.

What does PEACE stand for?

P = Preparation and planning, E = Engage and explain, A = Account, clarification, challenge, C = Closure, E = Evaluation.

Is PEACE a law?

No — it is a memory aid used in UK police training. The underlying framework is PACE 1984 Codes C and E govern the conduct/recording of suspect interviews under this model.

Are there variants of PEACE?

Some sources render A as just 'Account'.

Sources

ADVOKATE — Assessing eyewitness identification evidence (Turnbull factors) 5WH — 5WH formula — core investigation questions Golden Hour — Golden hour principle — effective early action

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