interrogations & confessions

voluntary confessions

1. suspect is of sound operating mind
2. no threats or false promises
3. no oppressive/coercive interviewing context
4. no deception that would "shock the community" (subjective in nature)
for confessions to be admissible in court

suspect's rights in Canada

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
1. right to silence (provincial and federal word this differently)
2. right to legal counsel

waiving their rights

once someone does this, their confession is considered voluntary and admissible in court

why would someone waive their rights?

- most ppl do not understand their rights or the consequences
- police often do not explain rights well or what would happen if they are waived
- innocent ppl often do this thinking they do not need a lawyer or to be silent

jurors' perceptions of confessions

confessions are highly influential, leading to higher conviction rates despite if coerced, false, or retracted

fundamental attribution error

tendency to attribute others' behaviour to internal factors and ignore external factors
- why confessions are so powerful

voluntary false confessions

suspect falsely confesses to crime without coercion or influence to protect another individual, for fame, or mental illness

coerced-compliant false confessions

suspect falsely confesses to crime they know they did not commit due to coercive tactics and belief that its the only way to stop/leave

coerced-internalized false confessions

suspect falsely confesses to crime they come to believe they committed due to coercive tactics

challenges of studying false confessions

- ground truth: clearly distinct between true and false
- intentional act vs. mistake: false confessions are different for the two
- consequences: different in real life than experiment
- situational context & authority figure: not easy to replicate real-world situations
- ethics: cannot deprive one of sleep/food and cause stress like in the real world

classic paradigm study

1. mundane task (type words read aloud by confederate)
2. computer crashes; accused of hitting ALT key
3. two conditions: confederate says they hit the key OR confederate says they did not see
4. compliance DV (sign written confession); internalization DV (discuss event with confederate)
high vulnerability: high compliance and internalization
low vulnerability: low compliance and 0% internalization

vulnerability of suspect

higher risk of false confession if:
- highly suggestible
- lacks understanding of consequences of confessing/the law
- believes they need to confess due to situation or authority figure

interrogation-related regulatory decline

process affects cognitive control + ability to think logically
- suspect becomes more focused on proximal rewards than long-term consequences

phenomenology of innocence

innocent suspects strongly believe that their innocence will protect them from harm
- more likely to incriminate themselves or think they can easily retract confession

interrogation

designed to elicit incriminating information and a confession from suspect

interview

focused on gathering any type of information

reid technique of interrogation - coercive tactics

utilizes four strategies:
1. loss of control
2. social isolation
3. certainty of guilt
4. minimization of culpability

reid technique approach

consists of 3 components and 9 steps
1. factual analysis (gather evidence)
2. behaviour analysis interview
3. interrogation

minimization technique

method of interrogation designed to lull the suspect into a false sense of security, offering justifiable alternate reasons

maximization technique

method of interrogation designed to intimidate the suspect by making accusations and interrupting

Mr. Big Technique

An investigative strategy designed to secure confessions from crime suspects through the creation of an elaborate scenario
- still admissible in court
- coercive and unethical
- influential to jurors

information-gathering approach

form of interrogation that elicits information without presumption of guilt, asking open questions, and not being deceptive (e.g. PEACE model)
- preferred as it is less coercive + results in less false confessions

PEACE model

Preparation and planning
Engage and explain
Account
Closure
Evaluation
- more ethical and admissible in court
- no less effective and more accurate than coercion

should police be allowed to lie?

police can present false evidence in Canada and USA, but this can increase false confessions as suspect believes there is nothing they can do

UK PACE act

made it illegal to lie to suspects
required all interrogations to be recorded and adult supervision for vulnerable suspects
- though confession rates have not reduced