The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook / Edition 1

by Gisli H. Gudjonsson

Overview

This volume, a sequel to The Psychology of Interrogations, Confessions and Testimony which is widely acclaimed by both scientists and practitioners, brings the field completely up-to-date and focuses in particular on aspects of vulnerability, confabulation and false confessions.

The is an unrivalled integration of scientific knowledge of the psychological processes and research relating to interrogation, with the practical investigative and legal issues that bear upon obtaining, and using in court, evidence from interrogations of suspects.


* Accessible style which will appeal to academics, students and practitioners
* Authoritative integration of theory, research, practical implications and vivid case illustration
* Coverage of topical issues like confabulation, false memory, and false confessions
Part of the Wiley Series in The Psychology of Crime, Policing and Law

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
Sales rank:	874,030
Product dimensions:	6.73(w) x 9.65(h) x 1.51(d)

About the Author

Gisli Gudjonsson is Professor of Forensic Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London and Head of Forensic Psychology Services, Maudsley Hospital, London

Read an Excerpt

The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions

A Handbook

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By Gisli H. Gudjonsson

John Wiley & Sons

ISBN: 0-471-49136-5

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Chapter One

Interrogation Tactics and Techniques

The 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 xiii

Series 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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