Chapter 5

Question 0

While interviewing is primarily for the purpose of gaining information, this is the process of testing that information and its application to a particular suspect.

Answer 0

Interrogation

Question 1

At the outset of the interview, the person to be interviewed must satisfy three requirements of being a witness:

Answer 1

1) presence
2) consciousness
3) attentiveness to what was happening

Question 2

There are four commonly recognized objectives in the interrogation process. They are:(4)

Answer 2

1) To obtain valuable facts
2) To eliminate the innocent
3) To identify the guilty
4) To obtain a confession

Question 3

Police officers conduct interviews in a number of situation. The most common is the:

Answer 3

On-the-scene interview

Question 4

Interviewing and Interrogation

To begin the preparation, the interrogator should review the following:

Answer 4

1) the offense report,
2) statement of witnesses,
3) laboratory reports,
4) all file information pertaining to the suspect, and
5) other related data.

It is also essential to know all the elements of the offense involved.

Question 5

Interviewing and Interrogation

It may be wise in most circumstances to interview this type of witness first:

Answer 5

Honest and cooperative

Question 6

This refers to a witness’s personal qualifications for testifying in court. This must be established before a witness is permitted to give any testimony.

Answer 6

Competency

Question 7

Among the factors an investigator must evaluate in determining the competency of a witness are: (5)

Answer 7

1) age
2) level of intelligence
3) mental state
4) relationships to individuals involved in the case
5) background characteristics

Question 8

The following response strategies provide a foundation for addressing witness intimidation:

Answer 8

1) Form multi-agency partnerships
2) Strengthen ties between pleasing community
3) Minimize the risk of witness identification when reporting crime or offering statements
4) Reducer the likelihood of contact between witnesses and offenders
5) Transport witnesses to and from work and school
6) Keep witnesses and defendants separate at the courthouse
7) Relocate witnesses. It is unusual for offenders to travel outside their neighborhood to intimidate witnesses

Question 9

What actions that can be taken to deter intimidators?

Answer 9

1) admonish intimidators

2) request high bail and no contact orders

Question 10

Research indicates that this is the most unreliable form of evidence and the cause of more miscarriages of justices than any other method of proof?

Answer 10

Eyewitness testimony

Question 11

Experts distinguish a number of factors that limit a person’s ability to give a complete account of events or to identify people accurately: (6)

Answer 11

1) The significance or insignificant of the event
2) The length of the period of observation
3) Lack of ideal conditions
4) Psychological factors internal to the witness
5) The physical condition of the witness
6) Lack of familiarity with members of another race or ethnic group

Question 12

It has been estimated that _________% of all people will confess to a crime.

Answer 12

80%

Question 13

Type of Confession Documentation (in descending order of Believability to Juries):

Answer 13

1) Electronic Video-audio tape or movie
2) Audio recording
3) Statement written and signed in suspect’s own handwriting
4) Typed statement signed by the suspect
5) Typed unsigned statement acknowledged by the suspect
6) Testimony of someone who heard confession or admission given

Question 14

There are two basic categories of people who tend to confess to crimes: (2)

Answer 14

1) guilty parties who need to get it off their chest

2) persons not guilty but have some urge to confess

Question 15

Documenting an interrogation consists of three main phases:

Answer 15

1) note-taking
2) recording, and
3) obtaining written statements.

Question 16

What is the best means of documenting an interrogation?

Answer 16

Electronic Recording

Question 17

Kassin and Wrightman introduced a taxonomy that distinguished among three types of false confession:

Answer 17

1) voluntarily
2) coerced-compliant
3) coerced-internalized

Question 18

Voluntarily false confessions are those in which people claim responsibility for crimes they did not commit without prompting or pressure from police. Often this occurs in what type of cases:

Answer 18

In high profile cases

Question 19

There are several reasons why innocent people might volunteer confessions, such as:

Answer 19

1) pathological need for attention or self-punishment
2) feeling of guilt or delusions
3) their perception of tangible gain
4) the desire to protect a parent, child, or someone else

Question 20

In false confessions, the suspect capitulates in order to escape a stressful custodial situation, avoid physical or legal punishment, or gain a promised or implied reward.

G.H. Guidonsson identified, based on a review of cases, some concrete initiatives for this type of confession, such as not being allowed to:

Answer 20

1) sleep
2) eat
3) make a phone call
4) go home
5) feed a drug habit

Question 21

This kind of false confession results from a “memory distress syndrome”, where people develop a profound distrust of their own memory that renders them vulnerable to manipulation from external cues.

Answer 21

Coerced-Internalized false confessions

Question 22

The following recommendations will do much to reduce the possibility of a false confession:

Answer 22

1) Use police skill teams. The team should consist of seasoned interview specialists, who through training and actual interview experiences, possesses the skills necessary to conduct successful critical interviews.
2) Provide mandatory police training
3) Provide mandatory police training on special interview considerations in dealing with populations most vulnerable to false confessions
4) Police agencies that in the past have been involved in wrongful convictions based on false confessions should review existing policies and make the appropriate changes to eliminate the problem
5) Mandate that police conclude the interview by asking series of questions that have emphasize the voluntariness of the confession-that is, no coercion. A simple yet very effective way to achieve this result is by asking such questions as “why did you decide to talk to me?” And “why did you decide to talk to me now?”

Question 23

Although pacifiers are not alone definitive proof of deception they do provide another piece of the puzzle in determining what a person may truly be thinking.

As a general rule, men prefer to pacify by: __________________
women prefer to pacify by: ____________________

Answer 23

Men: touching their men

Women: touching their clothing, jewelry, necklace, and neck