Understanding Police Interrogation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Douglas Woody ◽  
Krista D. Forrest ◽  
Edie Greene
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Disabilities ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
False Confessions ◽  
False Confession ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Police Interrogation ◽  
Race And Crime ◽  
Mistaken Belief ◽  
Erroneous Belief

What drives suspects to confess during police interrogation? In particular, why do some people falsely confess to serious crimes, despite both the likelihood of severe negative consequences and their actual innocence? Too often, observers endorse the mistaken belief that only people with severe mental illnesses or cognitive disabilities would confess falsely. This common but erroneous belief overlooks the risks that result from additional factors that can influence the nature of an interrogation and may conduce to a false confession, including investigators’ biases, cultural views about race and crime, the powerful effects of police deception on suspects, and characteristics of the suspect and of the circumstances that can increase the suspect’s vulnerability. This book examines numerous cases of false confession to clarify the totality of the circumstances surrounding interrogation and confession, including the interactions of many psychological, legal, cultural, personal, and other factors that lead to greater likelihood of confessions, including coerced or false confessions. It presents recommendations for reforming police interrogation in order to produce accurate, detailed confessions from factually guilty suspects, confessions that stand up under rigorous legal review, are admissible at trial, and lead to guilty verdicts.

Interviews of Suspects of Crime

2019 ◽  
pp. 315-339
Author(s):  
Marijke Malsch ◽  
Meike M. de Boer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
European Convention ◽  
False Confessions ◽  
European Law ◽  
False Confession ◽  
Wrongful Convictions ◽  
Police Interrogation ◽  
Interview Methods

This chapter examines the European law and practice of police interrogation of suspects of crime, and more specifically the extent to which wrongful convictions have led to reform of interrogations in six countries: Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Before discussing the regulations and the interview practices of those countries, the chapter describes the different interview methods used by the police and the risk that some techniques might generate a false confession. These include the Reid Technique, the PEACE Model, and techniques associated with false confessions. The chapter goes on to consider the relevant provisions of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) and European Union directives before concluding with an analysis of regulations and police interview practices in the six countries under review.

scholarly journals False Confessions and the Use of Incriminating Evidence

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Cole ◽  
JC Bruno Teboul ◽  
David E Zulawski ◽  
Douglas E Wicklander ◽  
Shane G Sturman
Keyword(s):  
Present Experiment ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
False Confessions ◽  
False Confession ◽  
Experimental Task

To date, few experimental studies have looked at the factors that influence people’s willingness to confess to something they did not do.  One widely cited experiment on the topic (i.e., Kassin & Kiechel, 1996) has suggested that false confessions are easy to obtain and that the use of false incriminating evidence increases the likelihood of obtaining one.  The present research attempted to replicate Kassin and Kiechel’s (1996) work using a different experimental task.  In the present experiment, unlike Kassin and Kiechel’s (1996) study, the participants were completely certain that they were not responsible for what had happened, thereby providing a different context for testing the idea that false incriminating evidence increases the likelihood of obtaining a false confession.  The results are discussed with respect to factors that may or may not increase individuals’ willingness to offer a false admission of guilt.

Juvenile Confessions During Police Interrogation: Predictors of False Confessions in Adolescent Offenders

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyi Olubadewo ◽  
◽  
Naomi E. Goldstein ◽  
Lois Oberlander ◽  
Jessica Geier
Keyword(s):  
False Confessions ◽  
Adolescent Offenders ◽  
Police Interrogation

The Current Nature of Police Interrogation

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-61
Author(s):  
William Douglas Woody ◽  
Krista D. Forrest
Keyword(s):  
Deception Detection ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
False Confession ◽  
Police Interrogation ◽  
Police Interviews

This chapter opens with a review of the false confession and mistaken conviction of Matt Livers, which powerfully depicts many of the ways the totality of the circumstances shapes interrogation and suspects’ decisions to confess. The authors present interviews and explore ways that interviews contrast with interrogations. Police interviews typically include attempts at behavioral deception detection; therefore, this chapter examines the wide and deep research literature and recommends caution for police, particularly regarding the ways that biases interfere with deception detection. The chapter then introduces Miranda warnings, including their content and limitations, before concluding with a review of the widely used method of interrogation promoted by John E. Reid & Associates, Inc.

Race and Ethnicity as a Compound Risk Factor in Police Interrogation of Youth

2020 ◽  
pp. 169-188
Author(s):  
Iris Blandón-Gitlin ◽  
Hayley Cleary ◽  
Alisa Blair
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
False Confessions ◽  
Juvenile Literature ◽  
Vulnerable Group ◽  
Police Interrogation ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Professional Perspective ◽  
Racial Factors

This chapter focuses on juveniles, particularly juveniles of color, in police interrogation contexts. A scientific and professional perspective is provided on the factors affecting children in this setting. The chapter draws from the adult and juvenile literature on interrogation, as well as research on racial factors, to suggest that there are unique vulnerabilities that minority and stigmatized youth bring to the interrogation context. These vulnerabilities may increase their susceptibility to interrogative pressures and false confessions. The chapter also provides recommendations for ways to protect this vulnerable group and calls for interrogation scholars to add race and ethnicity to their research inquiries. This will provide a clearer empirical understanding of the mechanisms by which race and ethnicity affect interview and interrogation behavior and outcomes.

Post-partum psychosis

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S625-S625
Author(s):  
F. Leite ◽  
O. Campos ◽  
H. Salgado ◽  
P. Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Affective Disorders ◽  
Psychiatric Hospitalization ◽  
Post Partum ◽  
Sudden Onset ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Postpartum Psychosis ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Puerperal Psychosis ◽  
Long Term Treatment

IntroductionPostpartum psychosis (or puerperal psychosis) is a term that covers a group of mental illnesses with the sudden onset of psychotic symptoms following childbirth. A typical example occurs when after childbirth, a woman becomes irritable, has extreme mood swings and hallucinations with the possibility of needing psychiatric hospitalization. Often, out of fear of stigma or misunderstanding, women hide their condition.Aims and objectivesTo review the evidence regarding prophylactic treatment and acute management of postpartum psychosis and affective disorders in the puerperium.MethodsOnline search/review of the literature has been carried out, using Medline/Pubmed, concerning “postpartum psychosis”, “postpartum”, “mental disorders”, “mania” and “depression”.ResultsPostpartum psychosis is a rare and severe psychiatric condition requiring rapid restoration of health in view of significant risks to both mother and the infant. The known risk factors and negative consequences of postpartum psychosis point to the importance of preventive and acute treatment measures. The majority of patients who develop psychosis immediately following childbirth suffer from bipolar disorder.ConclusionsUnderstanding the relationship between postpartum psychosis and affective disorders has implications for perinatal and long-term treatment. The rapid and accurate diagnosis of postpartum psychosis is essential to expedite appropriate treatment.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Cannabis Use and Mental Illness: Understanding Circuit Dysfunction Through Preclinical Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan W. Jenkins ◽  
Jibran Y. Khokhar
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Serious Mental Illness ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Cannabis Use Disorder ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Preclinical Animal Models

Patients with a serious mental illness often use cannabis at higher rates than the general population and are also often diagnosed with cannabis use disorder. Clinical studies reveal a strong association between the psychoactive effects of cannabis and the symptoms of serious mental illnesses. Although some studies purport that cannabis may treat mental illnesses, others have highlighted the negative consequences of use for patients with a mental illness and for otherwise healthy users. As epidemiological and clinical studies are unable to directly infer causality or examine neurobiology through circuit manipulation, preclinical animal models remain a valuable resource for examining the causal effects of cannabis. This is especially true considering the diversity of constituents in the cannabis plant contributing to its effects. In this mini-review, we provide an updated perspective on the preclinical evidence of shared neurobiological mechanisms underpinning the dual diagnosis of cannabis use disorder and a serious mental illness. We present studies of cannabinoid exposure in otherwise healthy rodents, as well as rodent models of schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, and the resulting impact on electrophysiological indices of neural circuit activity. We propose a consolidated neural circuit-based understanding of the preclinical evidence to generate new hypotheses and identify novel therapeutic targets.

Self-Perceived Likelihood of False Confession: A Comparison of Justice-Involved Juveniles and Adults

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (12) ◽  
pp. 1955-1976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Haney-Caron ◽  
Naomi E. S. Goldstein ◽  
Constance Mesiarik
Keyword(s):  
Juvenile Justice ◽  
Significant Problem ◽  
Correctional Facilities ◽  
False Confessions ◽  
Miranda Rights ◽  
False Confession ◽  
Authority Figures ◽  
Interrogation Techniques ◽  
Justice Systems ◽  
The Relationship

False confessions represent a significant problem for the criminal and juvenile justice systems and juveniles may be at particular risk for falsely confessing. In part, this risk may be due to juveniles’ greater likelihood of waiving Miranda rights and, consequently, undergoing interrogation, as well as their heightened suggestibility and greater susceptibility to and compliance with authority figures compared to adults. With data from 260 participants in correctional facilities, this study compared juveniles’ ( n = 168) and adults’ ( n = 92) self-reported likelihood of false confessions. Younger juveniles reported significantly greater false confession propensity than did adults, especially in response to directive interrogation techniques. Older juveniles did not differ significantly from adults in their self-reported likelihood of false confession. Miranda rights comprehension mediated the relationship between age and false confession likelihood. These findings suggest the need for greater protections of younger juveniles during interrogations.

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