Background
In the United States, the investigative interrogation process designed by John E. Reid (known as the ‘Reid technique’) is taught to all Law Enforcement Officers. It is the cornerstone of US police questioning. Through its guilt-presumptive principle, and confrontational nature, it is garnering increasing criticism by academic scholars.
The advent of DNA testing has transformed the prosecution process, through achieving an incontrovertible evidence base with which to prosecute, or refute, suspect culpability. Since DNA testing became the de facto tool within the judicial system, anecdotal and DNA evidence has indicated an increased prevalence of false confessions. Similarly, the mandated recording of interrogation has afforded significant material to analyse, facilitating the potential to apply stringent assessment of inappropriate questioning, coercion, false promises and other existing Reid driven pressure upon interviewed suspects.
This project report explores the nature and incidence of false confession specific to the USA, questioning whether:
- False confessions arise in suspects with known vulnerabilities making them more susceptible to coercion and inappropriate questioning
- Interrogators using the Reid Technique deploy coercive methods of questioning which are known to increase the likelihood of a confession being falsely given
- The language of the suspect in articulating a false confession has commonalities which indicate the probability of deception.
Through analysis of identified false confessions, using statement and behavioural analysis, the paper seeks to determine commonalities which exist within three publicly available interviews wherein the subject falsely confesses; with a view to determining a sequence of consistent notifiers which may guide future research.
Methods
This project report examines the current thinking pertaining to the efficacy of the Reid Technique in the context of the PEACE questioning approach (deployed currently in the United Kingdom and Canada). It explores the controversy accompanying Reid-compliant interrogation and methodology.
It then presents three transcribed cases of known false confession, where the suspect has subsequently been exonerated through DNA analysis, or confession and subsequent incarceration of the genuine perpetrator of the crime.
The project report considers:
- The vulnerability and susceptibility of the suspect, to determine common characteristics which may make a false confession more probable than in individuals without these characteristics
- The characteristics of the interrogation techniques, in the context of discourse and statement analysis, to highlight evidence of guiding the suspect and influencing statements to elicit the confession
- The volume of suspect responses which are implausible, repetitious, incoherent, evidence confusion, or would
prompt a skilled interrogator to probe further - An overall matrix of factors which may facilitate a likelihood of a false confession in terms of the individual, the interrogation process, and the language within the confession transcripts.
Results
The project report determines that each of the false confessions analysed feature the following common indicators:
- Vulnerability in the suspect, across mental capacity, physical deprivation and other factors
- An emphasis upon linguistic coercive interrogation techniques including false promises, emotional manipulation and the presupposition of guilt
- Questioning styles which are classified as ‘inappropriate’ within the investigative setting
- Consistent lack of linguistic coherence, implausibility, negation, doubt and hesitation in the suspect’s confession.
Conclusions
The preliminary findings within this paper present evidence of specific indicators within each confession, that in conjunction, could be developed into a clear framework for the evaluation of confessions elicited through the Reid technique of police ‘questioning.
Future research could focus upon collation of additional markers to formulate a matrix of factors with which to analyse confessions elicited through Reid techniques.
The hypotheses within this paper present an opportunity to apply analysis to a greater sample of false confession cases and confessions that are proven to be truthful, with a view to determining whether the matrix can accurately determine whether a confession is genuine, or deceptive.
This matrix could potentially then be applied by law enforcement officers, and representatives of the judicial system, to support a reduction in cases of false confession, leading to wrongful incarceration.
