NCJ Number
214235
Date Published
2006
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This chapter promotes the importance of an interrogator's ability to understand the perspectives and psychological states of the person being interrogated by comparing the interrogation techniques used with terrorist suspects confined in Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) and Abu Ghraib prison (Iraq) with those used in conventional law enforcement interrogations.
Abstract
The author first draws on psychological research to challenge the myth that all terrorists are "crazed psychopaths." This is followed by the development of the argument that one of the core requirements for an effective interrogator is the ability to understand the perspective of the subject being interrogated. In expanding on this concept the next section of the chapter focuses on the importance of understanding the cultural conditioning that influences both the suspect and the interrogator and how these influences may obstruct or facilitate obtaining reliable information from the suspect. Interrogator bias is discussed in a separate section. Also reviewed is the Stamford University prison experiment conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971. It focused on the radical changes in behavior by both "prisoners" and "guards" in a simulated prison environment. This is followed by a discussion of what happens when the roles of guard and interrogator are combined in a prison environment. The chapter concludes with a comparison of the interrogation tactics used at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay compared with law enforcement interrogation techniques. The author argues that the techniques of law enforcement interrogators, which focus on understanding why the suspect may have committed the crime, are more effective than the painful and demeaning techniques used with terrorist suspects. The latter techniques bring both the interrogator and suspect into a condition of dehumanization that cannot produce reliable communications. 35 references