UNIT #3: psychology of police investigations Flashcards
Classic trait model
A model of personality that assumes the primary Determinants of behaviour are stable, internal traits
Coerced-compliant false confession
A confession that results from a desire to escape a coercive interrogation environment or gain a benefit promised by the police
Coerced-internalized false confession
Confession that results from suggestive interrogation techniques, whereby the confessor actually comes to believe he/she committed the crime
Compliance
A tendency to go along with the demands made by people perceived to be in authority, even though the person may not agree with them
Confabulation
The reporting of events that never actually occurred
Criminal profiling
And investigative technique for identifying the major personality and behavioural characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the crimes he/she has committed
Deception detection
Detecting when someone is being deceptive
Deductive criminal profiling
Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on evidence left at the crime scenes but that particular offender
Disputed confession
Confession that is later disputed at a trial
False confession
A confession that is either intentionally fabricated or is not based on actual knowledge of the facts that form its content
Geographic profiling
And investigative technique that uses crime scene locations to predict the most likely area where an offender resides
Geographic profiling systems
Computer systems that use mathematical models of offender spatial behaviour to make predictions about where Unknown serial offenders are likely to reside
Heuristics
Simple general rules that can be used to make decisions and solve problems. in some instances, a reliance on heuristics can result in biased decisions. In other cases, heuristics can result in a reasonably accurate decisions
Inductive criminal profiling
Profiling the background characteristics of an unknown offender based on what we know about other unsolved cases
Internalization
The acceptance of guilt for an act, even if the person did not actually commit the act
Investigator bias
Bias that can result when police officers enter an interrogation setting already believing that the suspect is guilty
Linkage blindness
And 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
Maximization techniques
Scare tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to intimidate a suspect believed to be guilty
Minimization techniques
Soft sell tactics used by police interrogators that are designed to lull the suspect into a false sense of security
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
Police interrogation
A process whereby the police interview a suspect for the purpose of gathering evidence and obtaining a confession
Reid Model
A nine-step model of interrogation used frequently in North America to extract confessions from suspects
Retracted confession
A confession that the confessor later declares to be false
ViCLAS
The violent crime linkage analysis system, which was developed by the RCMP to collect and analyze information on serious crimes from across Canada
Voluntary false confession
A false confession that is provided without any elicitation from the police
Describe the key steps in police interrogation using the Reid technique.
#1: Suspect is immediately confronted with his guilt if police have no evidence interrogator can hide this fact and imply such evidence exists #2: Psychological theme is developed that allow the suspect to rationalize or excuse the crime #3: Interrogator interrupts any statements of denial by suspect #4: Interrogator overcomes suspect’s objections to the charges #5: If suspect becomes withdrawn interrogator ensures he has the suspect’s attention and suspect does not tune out of interrogation #6: Interrogator exhibits sympathy and understanding, and suspect is urged to come clean #7: Suspect is offered explanations for the crime which makes self-incrimination easier to achieve #8: Once suspect accepts responsibility for crime interrogator develops this admission into a full confession #9: Interrogator get suspect to write and sign a full confession
Outline the potential problems associated with the Reid technique of Interrogation
x5
(1) Biases that may result when
investigator Believes incorrectly a suspect is guilty.
(2) Ability of investigators to detect deception
(3) Coercive or suggestive Nature of certain interrogation Tactics can result in false Confessions.
(4) Not proven Officers detect deception with any degree of accuracy.
(5) When a belief is formed about something
before the situation is entered the person
often unknowingly seeks out and interprets
information in that situation in a way that
verifies their initial belief
How have the courts viewed police interrogation methods ?
x4
(1) Confessions that result from subtle
forms of psychological coercion are
regularly admitted
(2) Was confession voluntary and was Defendant competent when provided confession
(3) Confessions resulting from overt forms of coercion will not be admitted
(4) Prolonged isolation, deprivation of food or sleep, threats of harm or punishment, promises of immunity or leniency, or not notifying the suspect
of his or her constitutional rights
How have some police forces altered their approach to interrogation?
x8
(1) Mr. Big: non-custodial - Undercover officer poses as a member of a criminal organization and attempts to lure suspect into the gang
(2) Suspect is made to commit some minor crimes for which she is rewarded
(3) Once admitted into the organization suspect is
interviewed for a higher-level job
(4) Before suspect conceal deal with the boss he must confess to a serious crime (one Under investigation)
(5) Once confession is elicited it is used against suspect in trial
(6) PEACE MODEL: Goal is to obtain complete
and accurate info about crime in question that will allow investigators to conduct a more efficient and effective investigation
(7) Confronting suspect with their guilt and
appealing to their self interest
(8) Isolating suspects from friends and family to
try to establish rapport and gain their trust
How frequent are false confessions?
Examination of wrongful convictions &
People who have been exonerated for crimes Indicated 24.48 % contained false confessions as a contributing cause.
How are retracted confessions and disputed confessions related to false confessions?
In a disputed confession Suspect denies
confession was ever made
OR
Arise because of legal technicalities
Outline the main types of false confessions.
x4
(1) Coerced - compliant false confession
(2) False confession
(3) Coerced-internalized false confessions
(4) voluntary
What are compliance and suggestibility in the context of a confession? How can these constructs be measured?
x4
(1) Participant vulnerability:
(2) compliance- A tendency to go along with demands made by people perceive to be in authority, even though the person may not agree with them
(3) Confabulation: The reporting of events that never actually happened
(4) Internalization: The acceptance of guilt for an
act, even if the person did not actually commit yet
How can confessions be studied experimentally?
You can examine the cases of people who have been wrongfully convicted. Files of people who have been exonerated for their crimes are examined to determine if a false confession was to blame for the wrongful conviction.
Describe the Approaches to criminal profiling.
x6
(1) Give advice on how best to
interrogate a suspect
(2) Help set traps to flush out an offender
(3) Try to predict Most common Personality, Behavioural, Demographic characteristics
- Hobbies, family background, residential location
- Level of intelligence, educational history,
- Psychosexual development, post-offence
behaviour
- Criminal history, employment status
- Offender’s age, sex, race,
(4) Determine whether a threatening note should be taken seriously
(5) Most commonly used in cases involving violent
serial crimes
(6) Tell prosecutors how to break down defendants in cross-examination
Outline the historical developments leading to profiling in modern investigative psychology.
x5
(1) Development of criminal profiling
program at FBI and 1970s
- First time profiles were produced in systematic way by law-enforcement
- First time training provided and how to
construct criminal profiles
(2) Jack the Ripper
- Dr. George PHILLIPS: reconstructed various
crime scenes & described wounds of victims
for purpose of gaining greater insight into
offender’s psychological make-up
(3) New York City’s Mad Bomber
- NYPD turned to local Forensic psychiatrist,
Dr. James Brussel
- He examined actions of bomber and developed a
profile of unknown offender
- Years later, police arrested George Metesky who fit Most of Characteristics Dr Brussel head profiled
(4) John Duffy: Railway Rapist
- David Canter: Called in by Scotland Yard to provide Profile of unknown Offender
- Canter founder of Investigative Psychology
- Drew upon knowledge Of human behaviour
Especially, in area Of environmental psychology
- Canter & colleagues Have spent last 20 yrs
Developing field of Profiling into scientific Practice
(5) RCMP’s ViCLAS
- Developed in mid-1990s
- Automated system for linking serial crimes
- Prevents linkage blindness
- Inability on part of police to link geographically dispersed serial crimes committed by same offender because lack of information sharing
among police agencies
Describe the different models of criminal profiling.
x3
(1) Deductive
(2) Organized-disorganized model
(3) Inductive criminal profiling
Critique validity of criminal profiling
x13
(1) Core psychological assumptions underlying profiling currently lack strong empirical support
(2) Studies provide little support For the assumption that crime scene behaviours can be
used to reliably predict the background characteristics of offenders
(3) Results from recent Canadian research provide some support for certain profiling assumptions
(4) Argued previous profiling research did not find supportive results because studies oversimplified Profiling process
(5) Appear to be based on a theoretical model
of personality that lacks strong empirical support
(6) Rely on classic trait Model of personality
Which assumes Primary determinants of
Behaviour are stable, Internal traits
(7) Research from field Of Personality psychology Demonstrate traits are not the only determinant
of behaviour
(8) Situational influences also known to be very important in shaping behaviour
(9) Hard to create an accurate profile Due to impact of situational Factors Which may create behavioural inconsistencies across an offender’s crimes & Between different aspects of his life
(10) Professional profilers may be no better than untrained individuals at constructing accurate profiles
(11) Many profiles contain info that is so vague and
ambiguous they could potentially fit many suspects
(12) Could fit more than one suspect even when those suspects are quite different from each other
(13) Research examined content of 21 profiling
reports developed for investigations in the
United Kingdom and found that 24% Could be considered ambiguous
Describe the other type of profiling (in addition to criminal profiling) that have been used in criminal investigations.
(1) geographical profiling - Uses crime scene locations to predict the most
likely area where the offender resides.
- Research supports Serial offenders Do not travel far From home to commit Their crimes
- Serial offenders tend to be consistent in their
crime site selection choices Often committing their crimes very close to where they reside
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
- no use of a vehicle in the crime
- post-Mortem mutilation
- Corpse 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 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 media
- Does not maintain residence and vehicle
