Interviewing suspects Flashcards
Interrogative vs. Investigate interviews
An interrogation sounds accusatory in nature
An investigate interview is designed to develop an environment to prompt the suspect to disclose information. To search for the truth in order to obtain accurate and reliable information
The Reid Technique
Inbau, Reid, Buckley & Jayne
Interrogation technique intended to break the guilty suspects resistance to tell the truth.
Themes of accusation and repeated accusation
Usage of bluff or outright lies and deceit about supposed evidence
Minimising the crime to gain confession in emotional suspects
Maximising the evidence against the suspect for non emotional ones
The Reid technique: nine step approach to interrogation
1) direct confrontation
2) theme development
3) handling denials
4) overcoming objections
5) procurement and retention of suspects attention
6) handling the passive mood
7) presenting an alternate question
8) having suspect orally relate various details of offence
9) converting oral confession to a written one
Concerns with the Reid technique
Evidence obtained through trickery is not admissible in some countries
Bluffing runs the risk of the interrogator being caught in a lie
Concerns that it could lead a false confession, especially with vulnerable suspects
Reliance on non verbal cues of deceit identified by Inbau is unreliable
Suing Reid & associates
Juan Rivera
Wrongfully convicted for the 1992 rape and murder of 11 year old Holly Staker
A number of pieces excluded Rivera, including DNA from the rape kit and the report from the electronic ankle monitor he was wearing at the times bile awaiting trial for non violent burglary.
However, he confessed after being interrogated for several days using the Reid technique.
Following his exoneration, Rivera was awarded $20 million in 2015, including $2 million from John E Reid & associates
Alternative methods
PACE code C
Interviews should be investigatory (open minded and ethical), rather than confession-seeking.
Use of unfair methods can render a confession inadmissible in court
All interviews in police stations with suspects should be audio taped
Right for a solicitor to be present
Peace model of interviewing
Planning and preparation
Engage and explain
Account, clarify & challenge
Closure
Evaluation
The Amanda Knox case: a classic false confession
Interrogation detail
- repeatedly threatened and called a liar
- falsely informed that her boyfriend had denied her alibi
- falsely told that physical evidence placed her at the scene
- told to shut her eyes and imagine how the crime had occurred
- told she had obvious trauma
- interviews were not recorded despite law
Confession
- eventually broke down crying, screaming and hitting herself
- two ‘confessions’ produced during this phase
- one at 1.45am, one at 5.45am
Nothing in either confessions revealed she had guilty knowledge
Both immediately retracted in a handwritten letter as soon as she was alone
Drizin & Leo 2004
Documented 125 cases of proven false confessions in the US
32% of the sample were juveniles
19% were described as having some form of special needs/ mental impairment
10% described as mentally ill
> 80% of cases involved a charge of murder
11% plead guilty to the crime
81% of those going to trial were convicted on the false confession evidence
Length of incarceration
30% served 1-5 years
34% served 6-10 years
27% served > 11 years
The average length of interrogation where a false confession had been obtained was 16.4 hours (median 12 hours)
Why do people falsely rimes they haven’t committed
Stephanie Crowe murder
Interviewer: why would you confess
Michael Crow (14) eventually they wear you down to where you don’t even trust yourself. You can’t trust your memory anymore.
Josh Treadway (15) I had a lot of pressure on me at the time. And, again, you’d just have to be there.
Tankleff
Sentenced for 50 years for murder of his parents; spent 17 years in jail, all charges dropped.
False confessions in the UK
False confession evidence played a role in cases
Guildford four
Birmingham six
Both cases involved physical interrogation techniques/ mistreatment
Recording of interviews and appropriate suspect interview techniques make false confessions of this nature unlikely, however false confession still occur
Voluntary false confession
When a person confesses to police or others without apparent external pressure
Compliant
Why?
When someone know knows he is innocent confesses to escape a stressful situation, avoid a threatened or implied harm or gain a promised or implied reward
Seeking instrumental gain
- to escape pressures of the interrogation situation, psychological and/ or physical coercion, even though they are innocent
- short term beliefs appear to outweigh long term costs
- may believe that their situation will improve if they appear to ‘help’
- may believe truth will shine out
Negative and unethical police behaviours are a key factor in eliciting complaint coerced confessions
- impropriety throughout the investigative process
- manipulating techniques
—- unlawful: brute force, isolation, deprivation of food/ sleep, threats of punishment, promises of immunity or leniency
—- psychological: feigned sympathy/ friendship, appeals to conscience or religion, presentation of false evidence, good cop/ bad cop, trickery and
deception
Internalised
When an innocent person subject to highly suggestive techniques comes to believe that he may have committed the crime, a belief change sometimes accompanied by false memories
Sean Hodgson
Told a prison chaplain he murdered a bar maid
Then told a police officer, and made a statement
Claimed responsibility for two other murders
Withdrew confession at trail and described himself as a pathological liar
Convicted
Spent 27 years in jail
Released 2009
Why do people false confess
Desire to protect someone
Need for fame or attention seeking
Inability to distinguish its reality from fantasy
Psychological vulnerability
Complaint confession example:
Jeffrey deskovic
Convicted in 1989 for rape and murder of 15 year old classmate
Given a polygraph by investigator hired to get false confession
Interrogated between polygraph sessions (no lawyer, parents food)
His alleged confession occurred after six hours, three polygraph sessions, and extensive questioning by detectives between sessions
Told he had failed the polygraph examination
Detectives stated that Deskovic realised” three weeks ago he might be the responsible party
During the first confession, deskovic sobbed, by the end was under the table in the fetal position crying
Dna evidence was available but ignored
Exonerated via DNA evidence after 16 years in prison
DNA match to convicted murderer already jailed for something similar
Coerced internalised confession
Paul Ingram
A religious Christian and a deputy sheriff in Washinton - was accused of raping his daughter, sex abuse, and a satanic cult crimes that included the slaughter of newborn babies
After two dozen interrogations, extending for 5 months, Ingram was detained, hypnotised, provided graphic crime details and told by a police psychologist that sex offenders typically repress their offences
Urged by his pastor to confess. Ingram eventually recalled his crimes, pled guilty. Served his full sentence of 20 years in prison.
No physical evidence to prove that the crimes to which he confessed had even occurred.
Ofshe 1992, concluded that Ingram was ‘brainwashed’ into thinking he was part of a satanic cult.
To demonstrate Ingram’s suggestibility, Ofshe manufactured a phoney crime. Ingram denied the charge at first, but after 24 hours he submitted a full confession
Coerced internalised confession: why
Person comes to believe they are responsible for the crimes to which they have confessed
Memory dust syndrome (Godjohnnson, 2003)
- develop memories for having committed the crime
- falsely believe they committed the crime but cannot remember
Memory has to be vulnerable e.g. Substance use, fatigue, low intelligence, youth
Interrogation factors
Ofshe 1989
Identified a number of common interrogation tactics associated with coerced internalised confessions:
- exhibiting strong and unwavering certainty about suspects guilt
- isolating the suspect from all familiar social contacts and outside sources of information
- conducting sessions that are lengthy and emotionally intense
- presenting false but allegedly incontrovertible prof of the suspects guilt, offering the suspect a ready physical or psychological explanation for why he/she does not remember the crime
- applying implicit and explicit pressure on the suspect to remember and confess.
Innocence can put innocents at risk
Waive their rights to silence
Waive their rights to a council/ lawyer
Behave in ways that are open and fourth coming
Offer up alibis freely without regard for the fact that inconsistencies may be viewed with suspicion
Seems oblivious to the dangerous position there in
Perceptions of confession evidence
People believe false confessions
Confessions have more impact on juries than other strong evidence
People do not discount confessions even when
- retracted
- judged to be the result of coercion
- told the confessor suffers from psychological illness or interrogation induced stress
- confession is provided by informant incentivised to implicit defendant
Most people believe they would never confess to a crime they did not commit
Kassin, Meissner, Norwick 2005
Videotaped true and false confessions from inmates convicted of crimes, 4.5 minutes and examined whether investigators and naive participants could distinguish between them.
61 naive students, 57 police investigators
- investigators were significantly more confident in their judgments of deception
- investigators were not more accurate than students
- – but did demonstrate a bias to see guilt
Experience and prior training related to these biased perception
