FAQ
QUESTION: What do psychics say about working with police? (Part II - Annette Martin)
ANSWER: ANNETTE MARTIN SAYS:
Annette Martin, a highly experienced psychic detective whose main site is at www.annette-martin.com, was kind enough to talk to me about her work as an intuitive detective, which she does with her partner, Richard Keaton, a former homicide detective with the Marin County Sheriff's Office, as part of Closure4U Investigations:
1. How do you do police cases? When I'm doing police work, which is the most strenuous thing that I do because I go on for hours, the top of my head will hurt when I finish. We generally will work 2 1/2 hours at a time. Some cases we'll do three sessions. When I work, I always start with the white light [for protection]. Then I go into an altered state, and move into the energy of the victim. I will immediately physically go to the scene where the victim was last seen. And I'll see her or him, feel the emotions, see what is happening to that person. It's like going to the movies. Then, at some point I usually see the perpetrator come into the movie. And I'll feel his emotions, what he says. What the victim says back. And I replay it, what happened, the whole thing. Also, I usually know whether they're going to find the body or not or the perpetrator. It helps to have a partner to work with to ask questions. Because I'll get so caught up in watching the movie, that I forget to talk. Richard is good about that. He'll be asking me questions and record everything on the tape recorder as well as make notes. He will ask, "What else do you see? Is there a car? What color is it? What is he wearing?" That kind of thing. I would recommend not doing this alone at least until you're experienced. A partner can help guide questioning and record everything. Sometimes I forget it when it's done. You must record your sessions as you will undoubtedly forget after awhile what was said.
2. You've mentioned before that, even though you may be hired by a victim's family, you make it clear to them from the start that everything you get will go only to the police. Can you explain why that is? If you're going to work for the family of a victim, be sure they understand in advance that all of your information will go directly to the police. Then it's up to the police to decide what will or will not be released to the family. They're the ones who decide what's appropriate to pass on. I mean, what if it's a family member who did this? Usually if you explain that, they understand.
3. What recommendations would you make for those who want to do intuitive detective work? Keep it as professional as possible, from the first contact with the family onward. The family is often crying and upset. Don't become emotionally involved with them. Explain how you work and what you'll do. Keep your ego out of it. Don't pass on anything. Write down any immediate hits you get when talking to them, but don't let your ego make you tell them something right off the bat.
4. What was the most surprising thing to you about doing police work? It all played out like a movie. I didn't expect it to be as intense or as visual.
5. What do you think most people don't understand when they get into this? That they're going to see some very gory things. If you can't handle that, then you can't be doing that. It can be very bad. In fact, Pam Coronado and I have talked about that. It can be hard to take. I'll usually distance myself from feeling it, become the observer. It's about the same as a gory horror movie.
6. What's the best way to break into the business? That's the difficult part. Sometimes you get lucky and other times you don't. Often the police will laugh at you.
7. What's it like working with law enforcement as a psychic? Do you do anything differently? It is a little bit different, because I will go to their offices. That changes the dynamics completely. Generally they want to have two or four other officers listening. It can be very intimidating. They may be firing questions and putting out negative energy, "It's a bunch of crap." Also, they're generally very stoic and won't respond at all. Sometimes they deny what's true or accurate. So, when I do it in their office, it's a little more intense than when I'm working in my own space.
8. Is there any difference working with the FBI? The FBI are more stoic than the police. More unbelieving. Very skeptical.
9. What would you tell other people who want to do police work? What's the up side? The down side? Any time you can bring closure to a family, that is one of the most wonderful things a human being can do. I mean, what more wonderful things can you do? I have found so many bodies. It's the unknowingness that drives people mad. It's better if they can take the body home, bury it, and find closure. It's just a wonderful feeling to be a tool to help the police solve the crime. I mean, I'm counseling people all the time, but when I do the police work, it's just amazing. And not just the families--the detectives, too. A lot of people don't realize that. These guys are working themselves to death. And they care. They really do. And they spend hours and hours and hours. If I can help them solve the case, I feel good about that and they can, too. I do get tired, but I don't look at that as a down side. Sometimes you do not get any feedback from the police agencies and you wonder if you have seen everything correctly. So you must not feel rejected and know that what you picked up was what you saw or felt. It may not prove correct for quite awhile, until the police have discovered more things about the case. So be patient with your self and keep a positive attitude. Do not go over and over the case in your head, trying to see if it is different. Generally your very first impressions are the correct ones.
10. Do you ever feel threatened? No. I know some psychics have carried guns and felt threatened, but I don't.
11. I read in Psychic Criminology that some psychics won't do certain cases is they think they involve karma. How do you feel about that? Well that's just bogus! I mean, come on! You kill somebody, that's a no no. A very big no no. There's no two ways about it. You must still think about the family that is left with no answers as to what happened to their loved one. I feel that the crime must be solved one way or the other.
12. What helps you most? If I'm not working with Richard, which doesn't happen very often now, then I prep the detective. I tell them the process, what I'm going to do. That I'm going to close my eyes and hold the object or photo of the victim. Then I want them to ask me questions. Have them guide me and ask me questions. By asking questions they get more details. You're so busy watching that you don't want to talk. You're picking up the emotions from the perpetrator and the victim. I'm getting what the perpetrator is saying to the victim and the victim is saying to the perpetrator. Then I have to move back to the observer. So where is he going now? What is he doing now? I also draw things on paper, which I think is kind of an interesting phenomena, because I can't draw normally. I always use a pencil and a yellow pad. It also helps for the detective to give the psychic a little feedback if they can. To encourage. That's going to take a detective who really wants to solve the case, and doesn't have a big ego. That can be hard to find. It's easier if you have a long track record.
13. What hinders you? Can it be a problem working with a detective who doesn't want you to be on the case? That's not so much of a problem now as we have a track record. If it's the family who calls us, we ask the family for the name of the detective in charge of the case. The detective has to be willing to work with us. Usually, my partner, Richard, is the one who talks to them. Or if the agency calls then they are open to what we do. We ask for photos and maps to Richard's office, then he comes to my office and we work. There are times when you have to walk away from a case, if the police don't want to work with you. That is indeed sad, and we feel helpless in that situation. You do not want the family going out trying to solve the case and that is just what would happen if the police were not involved.