Ninette Toosbuy

Ninette Toosbuy retired as the Officer-in-Charge of the West Valley Area Sex Crimes Unit and the lead instructor for interview and interrogation after 24 years of service with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). As a supervising detective with the LAPD, Toosbuy's career has been marked by a relentless dedication to advancing the field of police interrogation practices.

Toosbuy earned a bachelor's degree in History from the University of California, Los Angeles and a master's degree in National Security Studies from California State University, San Bernardino.

In 2017, Toosbuy was invited to attend the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) course, which introduced her to Science-Based Investigative Interviewing (SBI). The HIG is a U.S. three-agency intelligence-gathering entity that brings together intelligence professionals from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to serve as the U.S. government's primary entity responsible to develop techniques and provide advanced training to investigative professionals. The HIG is a learning organization that sponsors and manages operational research findings in the field of interrogation.

After becoming involved with the HIG, Toosbuy began using SBI techniques in her casework, which led to increased investigative success for Toosbuy and her unit. This success inspired Toosbuy to reform the LAPD’s interview and interrogation course.

Since retirement, Toosbuy has taught SBI to law enforcement agencies across the United States, as well as presented at local universities, community colleges, and non-profit organizations. Toosbuy is also a licensed private investigator and expert consultant on law enforcement interview and interrogation practices and sexual assault investigations.

Toosbuy believes that through SBI education and training, law enforcement professionals will be better equipped to achieve their pursuit, apprehension, and prosecution of lawbreakers while abiding by an ethos of ethical conduct, fairness, and integrity. 

Class Taught: Introduction to Science-Based Investigative Interviewing (SBI)