Exam 2 chapter 2/3 Flashcards
Psych issues of police
Pressure and stress
Cynicism and desensitization
PTSD and risk of suicide
Frequent encounters on the job
o Exclusionary rule: Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
The 4th amendment
Before, evidence gotten without a warrant wasn’t excluded in trial
Gideon v. Wrainwright (1963)
right to a counsel
before:Betts v. Brady (1942) right to counsel only under certain circumstances (extremely harsh penalty, if defendant is mentally unfit)
after: Attorney will be provided in felony cases
Applies to only trial and one appeal
reid technique procedures
- Confront suspect with crime, keep attention throughout interrogation
- Interrupt suspect frequently in early stages; overcome all objections
- Develop “themes” and alternative explanations for crime: use sympathy to gain trust
- Recount details of crime
- Obtain full written confession
o Maximization
scare tactics
Overstate seriousness of offense and magnitude of charges
Make false or exaggerated claims of evidence
o Minimization
minimize crime
Sympathy, tolerance, face-saving strategies
Blame the victim or accomplice
o Jackson v. Denno
: confessions must be voluntary
Pre-trial hearings on confession voluntariness required
Torture, punishment, physical harm – or threats of these things – not permitted
Promises of leniency and gray areas of the law
* Cant promise lower sentence or anything like that
o Factors in known false confession cases
Length of interrogation
Sleep deprivation and/or lack of food
Suspect is vulnerable
Presentation of false evidence
Interrogator provides details of crime
If the person is a suspect, the goal of an _____ is getting a _____
1) interrogation
2) confession
o Jurors ____ able to identify false or coerced confessions
arent
o fundamental attribution error
the tendency to attribute other people’s behavior to dispositional causes (traits, personality) and to dismiss the situational pressures acting on the person.
o If there is strong evidence in addition to a confession, jurors will ______ the ______
1) ignore
2) coersiveness
Miranda rights:
(1) You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. (2) You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. (3) If you cannot afford an attorney, you have the right to have an attorney appointed to you prior to questioning. (4) Do you understand these rights as I have explained them to you
o Only ____ choose to use their miranda rights
20%
o To evaluate the voluntariness of a confession, judges must look at the _____ ___ ______ surrounding it
totality of circumstances
o good cop–bad cop approach
o good cop–bad cop approach: two interrogators work as a team. The “bad” cop (typically the larger, more intimidating member of the pair), through words and nonverbal behavior, shows his anger with the lying suspect and expresses his belief that the suspect should receive the most severe punishment possible. In contrast, the officer playing the “good” cop will show the suspect sympathy and understanding (although the good cop may eventually express disappointment that the suspect is continuing to lie).
o Reid technique
(1) loss of control, (2) social isolation, (3) certainty of guilt, and (4) minimization of culpability
Reid loss of control
remove the psychological comfort of familiar surroundings and to communicate — in blunt and subtle ways — that the suspect has lost control of the situation.
reid social isolation
deprive the suspect of emotional support and to minimize contradictory information.
reid certainty of guilt
You did it, we know you did it, it is futile to deny your guilt, and any jury or judge that sees the evidence will convict you
- evidence ploys
cite real or fabricated evidence that clearly establishes the suspect’s guilt. Sometimes there is actual evidence that implicates the suspect (e.g., an eyewitness who places the suspect at the scene). If no real evidence exists, police may lie about its existence.
reid minimization of culpability
: interrogators offer face-saving justifications or excuses for the crime.
o Thomas sawyer
Golf course groundskeeper; neighbor was raped and strangled to death
Suffered from severe social anxiety; avoided eye contact and fidigted when questioned by police
Made to believe he was the killer
Police lied to him about failed polygraph
Police told him he was drunk when he did it
Confessed after being told hair matched
o The most dangerous vulnerability is ____
youth
o interrogation-related regulatory decline
o interrogation-related regulatory decline: the process of interrogation results in a breakdown of self-regulation — the ability to control our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in pursuit of our goals. Interrogation techniques are designed to deplete our ability to self-regulate and to impair our ability to think rationally.
o Interrogation leads to short sightedness:
a tendency to give priority to the short-term goals of escaping the interrogation room and appeasing the interrogators
types of false confessions
instrumental–coerced, instrumental-voluntary, internalized-coerced, interlanized-voluntary
o instrumental–coerced false confession
occurs when, as a result of a long or intense interrogation, the suspect confesses to a crime that he knows he did not commit. This is the most commonly identified type of false confession in criminal case
o instrumental–voluntary false confession
occurs when a suspect knowingly implicates himself in a crime he did not commit in an effort to achieve some goal.
o internalized–coerced false confession
occurs when, as a product of a long or intense interrogation, a suspect becomes convinced — at least temporarily — that he may have actually committed the crime.
o internalized–voluntary false confession
occurs when someone suffering from delusions confesses to a crime with little or no pressure from interrogators
o 1986, enactment of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE did what
made it illegal to trick suspects or lie about evidence as a means of inducing suspects to confess. All interviews with suspects conducted at police stations must be audio-recorded; Bullying, threats, and intimidation are not permitted, and police are required to call in an “appropriate adult” to witness the interview of any suspect who is deemed “vulnerable” (usually because of youth or low intelligence).
Guildford four
- Fall of 1974
- Irish army exploded bombs in an England pub
- Paul hill signed a written confession incriminating Gerry conlon
- There was no physical evidence, but the 4 ppl were sentenced to life
- After 15 yrs, all four released.
- Intimidation, isolation, and lies by interrogators influenced their confessions
o The pace reforms ____ ___ harmed the ability of police
have not
accusatorial interrogations
— the use of confrontation, accusations, and psychological manipulation to obtain a confession.
o HUMINT interrogations
which are generally conducted by the military, the CIA, and the FBI; uncover information about people involved in terrorist networks, the power and communications structures of terrorist networks, and potential future attacks against the United States.
o SUE (which stands for strategic use of evidence)
) emphasizes strategically withholding or revealing known evidence in ways that expose contradictions between a suspect’s claims and the available facts
o PEACE model of interrogation
prep and planning
engage and explain
account
closure
evaluation
PEACE prep and planning
This stage occurs prior to the interrogation and involves studying the case materials and developing a plan to guide the process.
PEACE engage and explain
This stage includes building rapport with the suspect and providing an explanation of the interrogation procedure and its purpose.
PEACE account
main information-gathering step. Specific techniques are used to elicit a full account of the crime from suspects who are actually guilty. Emphasis is on pointing out and challenging inconsistencies and contradictions in the suspect’s account of events.
PEACE closure
the interrogator summarizes the account of the suspect to encourage further recall and disclosure. Follow-up procedures are clarified during this stage.
PEACE evaluation
interrogators are encouraged to reflect on their performance and to seek feedback from colleagues.
potential solutions to false confessions
video recording, requiring probable cause for interrogations, time limits, appropriate adult for vulnerable ppl, instructions to jury, and exert testimony
o Exculpatory scenario
the interrogation strategy of offering justifications or excuses for committing the crime
o the ruling by a judge that a confession is inadmissible in court because it was coerced is:
rare
