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The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook / Edition 1
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- 0470844612
- ISBN-13:
- 9780470844618
- Pub. Date:
- 01/06/2003
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook / Edition 1
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Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780470844618 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Wiley |
Publication date: | 01/06/2003 |
Series: | Wiley Series in Psychology of Crime, Policing and Law , #13 |
Pages: | 704 |
Product dimensions: | 6.73(w) x 9.65(h) x 1.51(d) |
About the Author
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The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
A HandbookBy Gisli H. Gudjonsson
John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0-471-49136-5Chapter One
Interrogation Tactics and TechniquesThe purpose of this chapter is to discuss the tactics and techniques advocated by practical interrogation manuals and the context in which interrogations occur. Nearly all published interrogation manuals originate in the USA (for a review see Leo, 1992, 1994). One exception is Walkley's (1987) Police Interrogation. A Handbook for Investigators, which was the first manual written for British police officers. It was heavily influenced by traditional American interrogation manuals and never gained national support in Britain.
In this chapter I shall discuss the nature of these techniques, their strengths and merits, and how their use can 'go wrong'. Of course, there are a large number of interrogation manuals regularly published in the USA, with each author claiming special expertise in the field and offering advice to interrogators. It would be unrealistic to try to review all of these manuals. Undoubtedly, the most influential practical manual is the one written by Inbau, Reid and Buckley (1986). This manual has just been revised, up-dated and expanded (Inbau, Reid, Buckley & Jayne, 2001). Hundreds of thousands of investigators have received the training in their technique (Inbau et al., 2001). Their book has also influenced many other authors; thus the main focus of this chapter will be on this approach and its implications. Other relevant publications will be referred to at appropriate points and issues discussed.
POLICE TRAINING MANUALS
Practical interrogation manuals are generally based on the extensive experience of interrogators and offer allegedly effective techniques for breaking down suspects' resistance. The authors of these manuals argue that most criminal suspects are reluctant to confess because of the shame associated with what they have done and the fear of the legal consequences. In their view, a certain amount of pressure, deception, persuasion and manipulation is essential if the 'truth' is to be revealed. Furthermore, they view persuasive interrogation techniques as essential to police work and feel justified in using them. The degree of persuasion recommended varies in different manuals. One of the most crude and extreme forms of persuasion recommended in a modern interrogation manual is in a book by Patrick McDonald (1993) entitled Make 'Em Talk! Principles of Military Interrogation, which states on the back cover
Every military has its ways of making subjects talk and this book takes you step-by-step through the most common, effective, and notorious methods used, including those favored by the Japanese, Germans, Koreans, Vietnamese, and Iraqis.
McDonald then goes on to describe how he recommends interrogators break down resistance and denials by inducing debilitation and exhaustion:
If you have subjects under your total physical control, you can wear them down and make them easier to exploit and more compliant. One of the simplest methods to debilitate people physically is to severely limit their food intake or intermittently refuse them food altogether (p. 44).
Most other manuals (e.g. Inbau, Reid & Buckley, 1986; Inbau et al., 2001; Macdonald & Michaud, 1992; Rabon, 1992, 1994; Royal & Schutte, 1976; Stubbs & Newberry, 1998; Walkley, 1987) are more psychologically sophisticated than McDonald's coercive guide to interrogators, but they rely to a varying degree on the processes of influence and persuasion. This reliance on persuasion is inevitable in view of the reluctance of many suspects to admit to their crimes or certain aspects of their crimes. There is an extensive literature on the psychology of persuasion, which demonstrates its potentially powerful influence in different contexts (Cialdini, 1993).
Leo (1994) correctly points out that persuasion in the context of interrogation is the process of convincing suspects that their best interests are served by their making a confession. In order to achieve this objective the police may engage in a range of deception strategies. These include the following.
Police officers concealing their identity while trying to obtain a confession (e.g. pretending to be a fellow prison inmate, befriending a person under false pretences, posing as a criminal). Such undercover operations are practised in some countries, for example, in Canada, the USA, and Britain. In Britain such an undercover operation went seriously wrong in the case of the famous murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992 on Wimbledon Common, South London (Britton, 1997; Fielder, 1994; Gudjonsson & Haward, 1998; Stagg & Kessler, 1999). In Britain, undercover police officers are not allowed legally to entrap people or coerce a confession out of them. In contrast, such undercover operations are commonly used in Canada to coerce confessions out of resistant suspects and they are allowed in evidence because they fall outside the legal framework of custodial interrogation (see Chapter 22).
During interrogation the police may misrepresent the nature or seriousness of the offence (e.g. in a murder case by lying to the suspect that the victim is still alive and may talk, or implying that the death must have been accident or unpremeditated).
Employing trickery is, according to Leo (1994), the most common police deception during interrogation. This typically involves presenting the suspect with false evidence of guilt (e.g. falsely claiming that a co-defendant has confessed, exaggerating the strength of evidence against the suspect, falsely claiming that the police are in possession of forensic or eyewitness evidence that indicates the suspect's guilt or lying about the results from a polygraph test).
There is a general reluctance among the authors of police interrogation manuals to accept the possibility that their recommended techniques could, in certain instances, make a suspect confess to a crime that he or she had not committed. Indeed, most interrogation manuals completely ignore this possibility. Some authors of interrogation manuals, for example Macdonald and Michaud (1992), at least acknowledge that false confessions do happen on occasions, but their understanding of false confessions is restricted to two main causes: 'A wish for publicity and notoriety' and 'Forceful prolonged questioning with threats of violence' (p. 7). This represents a very restricted view of false confessions. Macdonald and Michaud (1992), unlike Inbau, Reid and Buckley (1986), point to the dangers of using leading questions and recommend that interviewers should not lie to suspects. Their apparently ethical approach falls down when they recommend how suspects should be advised of their legal rights:
Do not make a big issue of advising the suspect of his rights. Do it quickly, do it briefly, and do not repeat it (p. 17).
Zimbardo (1967) argued, on the basis of his early review of American police training manuals, that the techniques recommended were psychologically sophisticated and 'coercive'. He went as far as to suggest that they were an infringement of the suspect's dignity and fundamental rights, and might result in a false confession. This was an important early acknowledgement that psychologically manipulative and deceptive interrogation techniques have the potential to cause false confessions to occur. This potential risk of false confessions occurring during custodial interrogation was extensively discussed in The Psychology of Interrogations, Confessions and Testimony (Gudjonsson, 1992a). Subsequently a number of American scientists have written extensively about the potential dangers of coercive interrogation techniques. These include Kassin (1998), Leo (1998, 2001a), Leo and Ofshe (1998a), McCann (1998), Ofshe and Leo (1997a, 1997b), Underwager and Wakefield (1992), Wakefield and Underwager (1998) and Wrightsman and Kassin (1993).
The opposing views of Zimbardo and the authors of police interrogation manuals are the result of looking at police interrogation from different perspectives. Police interrogation manuals base their techniques on instinctive judgements and experience, whilst psychologists such as Zimbardo view the recommended techniques within the framework of what is known in the literature about the psychology of attitudes, compliance and obedience. The fundamental problem is the lack of scientific research into the police interrogation process and the techniques utilized. Recent research in Britain and America into police interrogation techniques has significantly advanced our knowledge in this very important area. These studies will be discussed in this and subsequent chapters.
THE REID TECHNIQUE
The 'Reid Technique' is described in detail by Inbau, Reid and Buckley (1986) and Inbau et al. (2001). The first edition to this manual was published by Inbau and Reid (1962). These authors had previously published similar books on interrogation under a different title (Inbau, 1942, 1948; Inbau & Reid, 1953). There was a second edition of the present book published in 1967 and the third edition, published in 1986 by Inbau, Reid and Buckley. The third edition gave the up-to-date state of the art of interrogation and introduced an important legal section and an appendix on the psychology of interrogation (Jayne, 1986). Important differences existed between the three editions, but the third edition was psychologically most sophisticated (Leo, 1992). It introduced a nine-step method aimed at breaking down the resistance of reluctant suspects and making them confess, referred to as the "Reid Technique". Inbau et al. (2001) have recently published a fourth edition of the book, which builds on the previous work of the authors, updates it and introduces new topics, such as false confessions, guidance to court room testimony and responses to defence experts' criticisms of their work.
In the introduction to their new book Inbau and his colleagues set out their working principles and disclaimer:
To protect ourselves from being misunderstood, we want to make it unmistakably clear that we are unalterably opposed to the so-called third degree, even on suspects whose guilt seems absolutely certain and who remain steadfast in their denials. Moreover, we are opposed to the use of any interrogation tactic or technique that is apt to make an innocent person confess. We are opposed, therefore, to the use of force, threats of force, or promises of leniency. We do approve, however, of psychological tactics and techniques that may involve trickery and deceit; they are not only helpful but frequently indispensable in order to secure incriminating information from the guilty or to obtain investigative leads from otherwise uncooperative witnesses or informants (Inbau et al., 2001, p. xii).
I have two comments to make on the above disclaimer. First, it seems rather half-hearted and defensive with regard to their approval of trickery and deceit. Their use of the word 'may' is misleading, because there is nothing 'may' about it. Their recommended tactics and techniques do involve trickery and deceit. It is an essential part of the Reid Technique, as will become evident from reading a description of their recommended techniques. Elsewhere two of the authors (Jayne & Buckley, 1991) go as far as to state that not only are trickery and deceit justified, they are 'absolutely essential in discovering the facts'. Second, the authors' reassurance that they disapprove of 'the use of force, threats of force, or promises of leniency', is not entirely correct when their techniques are carefully scrutinized. Admittedly, they do not recommend physical threats and force, but there is considerable psychological manipulation and pressure applied by the Reid Technique to break down resistance. This is perhaps best illustrated by their article in the Prosecutor (Jayne & Buckley, 1991), where the authors are more forthcoming about the nature of their techniques than in the more cautiously worded fourth edition of their book. For example, at one point in the article they imply, if not openly admit, the importance of uses of promises of leniency:
Because of this, after a suspect confesses-even though he or she acknowledges committing the crime-this suspect is likely to believe that because the crime was somewhat justified, or could have been much worse, he or she should receive some special consideration.
The basic assumptions made by Inbau and his colleagues are the following.
Many criminal investigations can only be solved by obtaining a confession.
Unless offenders are caught in the commission of a crime they will ordinarily not give a confession unless they are interrogated over an extended period of time in private, using persuasive techniques comprised of trickery, deceit and psychological manipulation.
To break down resistance interrogators will need to employ techniques which would in the eyes of the public normally be seen as unethical:
Of necessity, therefore, investigators must deal with criminal suspects on a somewhat lower moral plane than upon which ethical, law-abiding citizens are expected to conduct their everyday affairs (Inbau et al., 2001, p. xvi).
The Reid Technique is broadly based on two processes.
Breaking down denials and resistance.
Increasing the suspect's desire to confess.
Inbau et al. recommend that prior to the interrogation proper suspects are interviewed, preferably in a non-custodial setting where they do not have to be informed of their rights, in an informal way. The purpose of this non-accusatory interview is for the investigator to establish rapport and trust, trick the suspect into a false sense of security through malingered sincerity, gather detailed information about the suspect and his background, which can be used to break down resistance during subsequent interrogation, determining by observations of verbal and non-verbal signs whether or not the suspect is guilty, and offering the suspect the opportunity of telling the truth without confrontation. Once these objectives have been achieved, and the investigator is 'definite or reasonably certain' about the suspect's guilt, the interrogation proper commences. Inbau et al. recommend that the same investigator should ideally conduct both the interview and the interrogation.
During this pre-interrogation interview a polygraph examination may be conducted on the suspect. The results, if unfavourable, are then used to confront the suspect with his apparent lies and this often proves effective in eliciting confessions (Gudjonsson, 1992a).
Since the work of Inbau and his colleagues is very influential and commonly used by police and military interrogators, I shall review the Reid Technique in some detail.
Continues...
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Table of Contents
About the Author xiiiSeries Preface xv
Preface xvii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
Part I Interrogations and Confessions
1 Interrogation Tactics and Techniques 7
Police Training Manuals 7
The Reid Technique 10
The Format and Recording of the Confession 21
The Context of the Interrogation 24
American Research on Interrogation 31
How Things Can Go Wrong During Interrogation 34
Conclusions 36
2 Interrogation in Britain 38
Irving’s Studies 39
Softley’s Study 43
Walsh’s Study 43
Research at the University of Kent 44
Baldwin’s Study 48
British Training Manuals 51
Conclusions 55
3 Persons at Risk during Interviews in Police Custody: the Royal Commission Studies 57
The 1993 Royal Commission Study by Gudjonsson and Colleagues 58
Who Confesses? 69
Detainees’ Legal Rights 71
General Conclusions 73
4 The Identification and Measurement of ‘Oppressive’ Police Interviewing Tactics in Britain 75 John Pearse and Gisli H. Gudjonsson
Background to the Research 75
The Cases Analysed 77
Methodology 79
Interview Tactics 80
Suspects’ Responses 83
Methodological Issues 85
Statistical Procedures 86
Application of the Framework to Individual Cases 87
The Heron Murder Case 96
The Miller Murder Case 106
Court Outcome 112
Conclusions 114
5 Why do Suspects Confess? Theories 115
Factors Inhibiting Confession 115
Theoretical Models of Confession 117
Conclusions 128
6 Why do Suspects Confess? Empirical Findings 130
How Important are Confessions? 130
How Commonly do Suspects Confess? 133
Factors Associated with Admissions and Denials 140
Self-Report Studies into Why Suspects Confess 151
Conclusions 156
7 Miscarriages of Justice and False Confessions 158
Miscarriages of Justice 158
Studies of Miscarriages of Justice 159
The Leo–Ofshe Study 164
Some Notorious British Cases 166
Conclusions 172
8 The Psychology of False Confession: Research and Theoretical Issues 173
Definitions of False Confession 174
The Frequency of False Confessions 174
False, Retracted and Disputed Confessions 178
The Innocent Pleading Guilty 184
The Broader Context of False Confessions 186
The Causes of False Confessions 193
Theoretical Implications of the Different Types of False Confession 197
The Ofshe–Leo Model of Confessions 203
Differences between True and False Confessions 208
A Proposed Modified Framework 211
Recovered Memory and False Confession 212
Conclusions 215
9 The Psychology of False Confession: Case Examples 217
Voluntary False Confessions 218
Pressured–Compliant False Confessions 224
Pressured–Internalized False Confessions 233
Conclusions 242
Part II Legal and Psychological Aspects
10 The English Law on Confessions 247
The Admissibility and Reliability of Confession Evidence 248
The Voire Dire 258
Issues Affecting Vulnerable Defendants 259
The Admissibility of Expert Evidence 275
Conclusions 281
11 The American Law on Confessions 283 Gisli H. Gudjonsson and Lorca Morello
The Basic Law of Confessions 283
Voluntariness and Mentally Vulnerable Suspects 288
Challenging a Confession in Court 293
Differences between English and American Law and Practice 304
Conclusions 306
12 The Psychological Assessment 308
The Assessment Framework 309
Psychological Vulnerabilities 316
Learning Disability as a Vulnerability 320
The Court Report and Oral Evidence 327
Conclusions 330
13 Suggestibility: Historical and Theoretical Aspects 332
Theoretical Approaches 334
Some Characteristics of Suggestion and Suggestibility 335
Brief Historical Background to Suggestibility 336
The Classification of Suggestibility 338
Theories of Suggestibility 340
Reinforcement and Suggestibility 343
Suggestibility: a State or a Trait? 343
Definition of Interrogative Suggestibility 344
The Gudjonsson–Clark Theoretical Model 347
Implications of the Model and Hypotheses 352
External Evaluation of the Model 353
Conclusions 358
14 Interrogative Suggestibility: Empirical Findings 360
The Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales 361
Suggestibility and Hypnotic Susceptibility 368
Compliance 370
Acquiescence 376
Correlations between Suggestibility, Compliance and Acquiescence 378
Suggestibility and Gender 379
Suggestibility and Ethnic Background 380
Suggestibility and Age 380
Suggestibility and Intelligence 381
Suggestibility and Memory 384
Suggestibility and Anxiety 385
Suggestibility and Impulsivity 388
Suggestibility and the MMPI-2 389
Suggestibility and Sleep Deprivation 389
Suggestibility: Dissociation and Fantasy Proneness 390
Suggestibility and Instructional Manipulation 391
Suggestibility and the Experimenter Effect 392
Suggestibility and Social Desirability 394
Suggestibility and Coping Strategies 395
Suggestibility and Assertiveness 396
Suggestibility and Self-Esteem 396
Suggestibility and Locus of Control 398
Suggestibility and Field Dependence 399
Suspiciousness and Anger 400
Suggestibility and Test Setting 402
Suggestibility and Previous Convictions 403
Police Interviewing and Suggestibility 403
Resisters and Alleged False Confessors 404
Suggestibility and False Confessions 407
Suggestibility and Eyewitness Testimony 410
Suggestibility and Recovered Memory 411
Conclusions 412
15 The Effects of Drugs and Alcohol upon the Reliability of Testimony 415
The Extent of the Problem 416
Theoretical Perspectives 418
The Effects of Intoxication and Withdrawal 421
The Effects of Alcohol Withdrawal on Interrogative Suggestibility 428
False Confessions to Murder by a Heroin Addict 430
Conclusions 432
Part III British Court of Appeal Cases
16 The Court of Appeal 437
The Beginning of Expert Psychological Testimony 440
Conclusions 441
17 The ‘Guildford Four’ and the ‘Birmingham Six’ 445 Gisli H. Gudjonsson and J. A. C. MacKeith
The Guildford Four 445
The Birmingham Six 452
Conclusions 456
18 Psychological Vulnerability 458
Engin Raghip—The Beginning: Landmark Decision for Psychology 458
Jacqueline Fletcher—Unidentified Borderline Intelligence 468
Judith Ward—Personality Disorder 470
David MacKenzie—Inability to Distinguish Facts from Fantasy 472
Idris Ali—Pathological Lying 473
George Long—Clinical Depression 476
Patrick Kane—Anxiety and Compliance 479
Andrew Evans—Misdiagnosed Psychogenic Amnesia 482
John Roberts—Abnormal Compliance 492
Ashley King—Abnormal Suggestibility and Compliance 493
Darren Hall—Disorder in the Absence of a Psychiatric Diagnosis 495
Ian Hay Gordon—Exploitation of Sexuality 499
Peter Fell—Poor Self-Esteem 506
Conclusions 512
19 Police Impropriety 514
Stephen Miller 515
Alfred Allen (the ‘UDR Four’) 517
The Carl Bridgewater Case 519
Derek Bentley 520
Conclusions 522
20 Misleading Special Knowledge 523
Stefan Kiszko 523
The Darvell Brothers 530
Donald Pendleton 533
Conclusions 537
Part IV Foreign Cases of Disputed Confessions
21 Four High Profile American Cases 541
Waneta Hoyt 541
Joe Giarratano 550
Henry Lee Lucas 554
John Wille 563
General Conclusions 572
22 Canadian and Israeli Cases 573
A Canadian Case of Non-Custodial Interrogation 573
An Israeli Terrorist Case 582
General Conclusions 589
23 Murder in Norway: a False Belief Leading to a False Confession 590
Background to the Case 590
Pre-Trial (1997) Psychological Evaluation 594
The First Trial 595
The Psychological Evaluation Prior to the Appeal 596
Interviews with Informants 602
Mr A’s Strengths and Vulnerabilities 605
The Interrogation and Confinement 606
Repression and Psychogenic Amnesia 608
The Appeal 609
Conclusions 611
Conclusions 615
General Comments and Conclusions 615
Interrogation 619
Psychological Vulnerability 621
True Confessions 622
Retracted and False Confessions 623
Appendix 628
References 631
Author Index 663
Subject Index 672
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