Chapter 3: The Psychology of Police Investigations Flashcards
police investigation
a process whereby the police interview a suspect to gather evidence and obtain a confession
interpreting confessions in North America
In North America, a confession usually has to be backed up by some other form of evidence
impact of confessions on convictions
People who confess to a crime are more likely to be prosecuted and convicted than those who do not
coercive tactics to obtain confessions today vs. in the past
- Physically coercive tactics to obtain a confession were used in the past
- Now, police officers use more subtle, psychologically-based interrogation techniques
- Police in England and Wales are trained to use less coercive interrogation techniques than in North America
the reid model of interrogation
a nine-step model of interrogation used frequently in North America to extract confessions from suspects
who developed the reid model?
John E. Reid, a polygrapher from Chicago
three stages of the reid model
- Gather evidence related to the crime and interview witnesses and victims
- Conduct a non-accusatorial interview of the suspect to assess any evidence of deception
- Conduct an accusatorial interrogation of the suspect if they are perceived to be guilty
nine steps of the reid model
- The suspect is immediately confronted with their guilt. If the police do not have any evidence against the suspect at this time, the interrogator can hide this fact and, if necessary, imply that such evidence exists.
- Psychological themes are then developed that allow the suspect to rationalize or excuse the crime. For example, a murderer may be told that the interrogators understand why they committed the crime and that the crime was even justified (e.g., given that the victim was a known criminal “who had it coming”).
- The interrogator interrupts any statements of denial by the suspect to ensure the suspect does not get the upper hand in the interrogation.
- The interrogator overcomes the suspect’s objections to the charges.
- If the suspect becomes withdrawn, the interrogator ensures that they have the suspect’s attention and that the suspect does not tune out of the interrogation. A range of techniques can be used for this purpose, such as reducing the psychological distance between the interrogator and the suspect (e.g., by physically moving
closer to the suspect). - The interrogator exhibits sympathy and understanding, and the suspect is urged
to come clean (e.g., by appealing to the suspect’s sense of decency). - The suspect is offered explanations for the crime, which makes self-incrimination easier to achieve. For example, rather than the suspect being involved in an intentional homicide, which would carry a severe penalty, the interrogator may suggest to a murder suspect that the crime they committed was accidental (e.g., the result of an argument that simply went wrong).
- Once the suspect accepts responsibility for the crime, typically by agreeing with
one of the alternative explanations, the interrogator develops this admission into
a full confession for the crime in question. - Finally, the interrogator gets the suspect to write and sign a full confession.
Inbau et al’s other suggestions for successful interrogations
- Use a plainly decorated interrogation room to avoid distractions
- Have the evidence folder in your hand when you begin the interview
- Make sure the suspect is alone in the interrogation suite before the interrogator enters the room
premise of the Reid model
people make choices that they think will maximize their well-being given the constraints they face
goal of the reid model
to make the consequences of confession more desirable than the anxiety related to the deception
two general categories of interrogation techniques
minimization & maximization techniques
minimization techniques
soft-sell tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to lull the suspect into a false sense of security
maximization techniques
scare tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to intimidate a suspect believed to be guilty
Kassin et al., 2007 use of Reid model study
found through officer self-reports that many of the techniques in the Reid model were used in interrogations, although the frequency of use varied across techniques
King and Snook, 2009 use of Reid model and confessions study
found through objective measures that more confessions were extracted when more Reid techniques were used
potential problems with the Reid model
- It assumes that interrogators can detect deception
- investigator bias
- An increased likelihood that suspects will make false confessions
what makes someone a good deceiver?
knowing what cues to avoid
solution to improving the detection of deception
teach people how to increase the behavioural differences between truth-tellers and liars so that deception cues become more pronounced
investigator bias
bias that can result when police officers enter an interrogation setting already believing the suspect is guilty
Kassin et al., 2003 investigative biases and coercion study
found that investigative biases led to coercive interrogations that caused suspects to appear guiltier to both the interrogator and neutral observers, even when the suspect had committed no crime
Eastwood & Snook, 2010 understanding legal cautions in undergraduate students study
found that undergraduate students had difficulties understanding legal cautions, but presenting them in written format, one element at a time allowed for greater comprehension. Self-reported confidence was not a good predictor of a participant’s degree of comprehension
Eastwood et al., 2015 understanding youth waivers study
found that high school students understand less than half of the information presented in Canadian youth waivers in an oral format
interrogation practices in court
- Judges consider whether a confession was made voluntarily and whether the defendant was competent when they provided the confession
- Confessions obtained through overt forms of coercion are inadmissible in court
PEACE model
provides an inquisitorial framework within which to conduct police investigations and is based on conversation management and encouraging information gathering
what does PEACE stand for?
planning and preparation, engage and explain, account, closure, and evaluation
where is PEACE used?
England and Wales
what term do they use in the PEACE model instead of interrogation
investigative interviewing
does the PEACE model impact the number of confessions obtained?
A decrease in coercive interrogation tactics does not necessarily result in a substantial reduction in the number of confessions obtained
goal of a PEACE interview
to obtain complete and accurate information about the crime in question, allowing investigators to conduct a more efficient investigation
the PEACE model in Canada
- Canadian interrogators rarely rely on questioning practices that will allow them to maximize the amount of complete and accurate information that is collected
- They rely on closed-ended questions and do most of the talking
- The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has adopted the PEACE model
false confession
a confession that is either intentionally fabricated or is not based on actual knowledge of the facts that form its content
retracted confession
a confession that the confessor later declares to be false
disputed confession
a confession that is later disputed at trial
wrongful convictions and false confessions
A recent study examined wrongful convictions that were exonerated by DNA and found that 24.48% of cases contained false confessions as a contributing cause of the wrongful conviction
voluntary false confession
a false confession that is provided without any elicitation from police
how does a voluntary false confession arise?
- A morbid desire for notoriety
- The person is unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy
- The need to make up pathological feelings of guilt by receiving punishment
- The desire to protect someone else from harm
coerced-compliant false confessions
a confession that results from a desire to escape a coercive interrogation environment or gain a benefit promised by the police
how does a coerced-compliant false confession arise?
- A desire to escape further interrogation
- A desire to gain a promised benefit
- A desire to avoid a threatened punishment
coerced-internalized false confessions
a confession that results from suggestive interrogation techniques, whereby the confessor actually comes to believe they committed the crime
how does a coerced-internalized false confession arise?
- A history of substance abuse or some other interference with brain function
- An inability to detect discrepancies between what one observed and what has been erroneously suggested
- Factors associated with the mental state, such as severe anxiety, confusion, or guilt
compliance
a tendency to go along with demands made by people perceived to be in authority even though the person may not agree with them
internalization
the acceptance of guilt for an act, even if the person did not commit the act
confabulation
the reporting of events that never occurred
Kassin and Kiechel, 1996 lab false confession study
tested whether individuals would confess to a crime they did not commit by manipulating participant vulnerability and the presentation of false evidence. Found that people can admit to acts they are not responsible for and come to believe in their guilt to such a point that they can reconstruct details of an act that never occurred
Downsides to Kassin & Kiechel’s study
- Their participants didn’t have much to lose if they couldn’t convince others of their innocence
- All their participants were innocent
- Their participants could have been easily confused about their guilt
Shaw & Porter 2015 implanting false memories study
suggestive interviewing techniques can cause university students to develop a false memory of a crime and confess to it with concrete and vivid details
the consequences of falsely confessing
- People can go to jail for a crime they didn’t commit
- Jurors might be more likely to convict a suspect based on confession evidence even if they are aware that the confession resulted from a coercive interrogation
- Many genuine false confessions are likely to be viewed as evidence of guilt by potential jurors
- Confession evidence may taint other evidence presented in the trial
- The police are diverted down a false trail that may waste valuable time
3 reasons jurors are unlikely to identify confessions by innocent people as false
- Jurors are unlikely to believe that a person would be willing to make statements that counter self-interest, even in the context of an interrogation
- People are unable to distinguish between true and false confessions
- False confessions are often similar to true confessions with respect to their form and content
confession evidence and false confessions
Evidence errors are more likely in cases involving false confessions
criminal profiling
an investigative technique for identifying the major personality and behavioural characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the crimes they have committed
purposes of criminal profiling
- To help set traps to flush out an offender
- To determine whether a threatening note should be taken seriously
- To advise on how to best interrogate a suspect
- To tell prosecutors how to break down defendants in a cross-examination
alternative terms for criminal profiling
- Many agencies have stopped using the term criminal profiling
- The RCMP now uses criminal investigative analysis
the history of criminal profiling
- 1888: a police surgeon engaged in a form of criminal profiling for the first time—in the Jack the Ripper case
- 1940: Dr. James Brussel identified offender characteristics of New York City’s Mad Bomber, which mostly fit the description of George Metesky, the man arrested for the bombings
- 1970s: the FBI developed its criminal profiling program, which was later replicated in other jurisdictions
ViCLAS
the Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System, which was developed by the RCMP to collect and analyze information on serious crimes from across Canada
why was ViCLAS developed?
to prevent linkage blindness
linkage blindness
an inability on the part of the police to link geographically dispersed serial crimes committed by the same offender because of a lack of information sharing among police agencies
two main methods of criminal profiling
deductive & inductive
deductive criminal profiling
profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on evidence left at the crime scene(s) by that particular offender
inductive criminal profiling
profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on what we know about other solved cases
the organized-disorganized model
- A profiling model used by the FBI that assumes the crime scenes and backgrounds of serial offenders can be categorized as organized or disorganized
- Argues that given a disorganized crime scene, you should profile a disorganized offender and vice versa
what type of model is the organized-disorganized model?
inductive criminal profiling
organized crime scene behaviours
- planned offence
- use of restraints on the victim
- ante-mortem sexual acts committed
- use of a vehicle in the crime
- no post-mortem mutilation
- corpse not taken
- little evidence left at the scene
disorganized crime scene behaviours
- spontaneous offence
- no restraints used on the victim
- post-mortem sexual acts committed
- no use of a vehicle in the crime
- post-mortem mutilation
- corpe or body parts taken
- evidence left at the scene
organized background characteristics
- high intelligence
- skilled occupation
- sexually adequate
- lives with a partner
- geographically mobile
- lives and works far away from crimes
- follows crimes in the media
- maintains residence and vehicle
disorganized background characteristics
- low intelligence
- unskilled occupation
- sexually inadequate
- lives alone
- geographically stable
- lives and works close to crimes
- little interest in the media
- does not maintain residence and vehicle
Investigative psychology approaches to profiling
involve rigorously testing the validity of the categories that are proposed and the degree of linkage between crime scene behaviours and background characteristics
what type of model is the investigative psychology approach?
inductive criminal profiling
Goodwill et al. investigative psychology findings
- Found relationships between clusters of crime scene beahviorus and background characteristics
- Ex. Offenders who actively seek out victims within a short distance from their home target adult females with specifci physical features, use the home intruder approach, and employ an assault strategy based on violence and control
police officer view on criminal profiling
The majority of Canadian police officers feel that profiling is a valuable investigative tool
criticisms of criminal profiling
- Many forms of profiling are based on a theoretical model of personality that lacks strong empirical support
- The core psychological assumptions underlying profiling lack strong empirical support
- Many profiles contain information that is so vague and ambiguous that they can fit many suspects
- Professional profiles may be no better than untrained individuals at constructing accurate profiles
does profiling have a strong theoretical base?
- Many forms of profiling are based on a classic trait model
- Some researchers argue that situational factors are more important than stable traits
classic trait model
a model of personality that assumes the primary determinants of behaviour are stable, internal traits
two key assumptions of criminal profiling
- Offenders behave in a stable fashion across the crimes they commit
- Reliable relationships exist between the way offenders commit their crimes and their background characteristics
is there empirical support for profiling assumptions?
Research has provided partial support for the first assumption and minimal support for the second
Goodwill & Alison’s explanation for the findings of profiling research
- Previous profiling research may not have found results that were supportive of profiling assumptions because the studies oversimplified the profiling process
- Ex. victim age can be a reliable predictor of offender age, but only under conditions where the offender has shown evidence of offence planning or when the offender acted in a particularly violent fashion
are criminal profiles ambiguous?
24% could be considered ambiguous
Alison et al., 2003 impact of ambiguous profiles study
provided details of a genuine crime to two groups of forensic psychologists. One group received a description of the real offender and the other received a description constructed by the researchers. They found that both groups of participants rated their profiles as fairly accurate and useful, after comparing their profile to the suspect, providing preliminary support that ambiguous profiles can be interpreted to fit more than one suspect
Problems with the Alison et al., 2003 study
- It’s important to know how closely the profile matches the typical criminal profile provided in the field
- The study is far from realistic
- A more recent study did not contain the same degree of ambiguity
how accurate are professional profilers?
- A 2007 meta-analysis found that self-labelled profilers performed better than the control group across all measures, except for predictions related to offence behaviours
- However, the differences were relatively small
geographic profiling
an investigative technique that uses crime scene locations to predict the most likely area where an offender resides
when is geographic profiling most often used?
in the case of violent crime
goal of geographic profiling
prioritizing potential suspects by rank ordering them based on how close they live to the predicted home location
assumption of geographic profiling
most serial offenders do not travel far from home to commit their crimes, and, therefore, it should be possible to make a reasonably accurate prediction about where an offender lives
does research support the assumption of geographic profiling?
yes
geographic profiling systems
computer systems that use mathematical models of offender spatial behaviours to make predictions about where unknown serial offenders are likely to reside
is there empirical support for geographic profiling systems?
yes, studies show that computerized geographic profiling systems are accurate
example studies demonstrating the efficacy of geographic profiling
- Rossmo, 2000: found that an offender’s residence could be found in 12% of the time it would take when using a random search
- Canter et al., 2000: found that 51% of offender residences were located within the top 5% of the prioritized activity space and 87% were located within the top 25%
