NCJ Number
220844
Date Published
2007
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This chapter reviews the principles of effective investigative interviewing of suspects and their application by British police.
Abstract
Two fundamental assumptions underlie the chapter's discussions. First, interviews--whether of victims, witnesses, or suspects--are an essential part of the investigative and judicial process. Second, it is the quality and fairness of these interviews that determine whether or not justice is served. A discussion of investigative interview techniques notes that a number of police interview manuals have been written. These practical interrogation manuals are generally based on the extensive experience of interrogators and suggest techniques they have determined to be effective in breaking down suspects' resistance. They generally maintain that a certain amount of pressure, deception, persuasion, and manipulation is essential if the "truth" is to be elicited from the suspect. English and Welsh courts, however, are likely to be critical of such manipulative ploys and exclude confession evidence obtained by such methods. A review of current interview practices in England presents seven principles that characterize it. This is followed by chapter sections on the interrogation of terrorist suspects, how interrogation can go wrong, confessions, a model of the interrogation process, and false confessions. The chapter advises that perceptions of the strength of evidence is the single most important reason that suspects confess. Also, there is an increased risk of false confessions in cases where the evidence against the suspect is weak and interrogators attempt to compensate for this by using various manipulative methods to obtain a confession. In addition to increased interviewing training, interviewing in the British police service has become more specialist oriented, with priority given to the matching of interviewer styles, training, and experience to a specific type of case and suspect profile. Psychologists also increasingly assist police in the development of interviewing strategies. 88 references