Confessions Chapter 11 Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-1 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 What is an Interrogation? Questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way Includes the interrogation environment due to a measure of compulsion Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-2 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Interrogate Lawfully The opportunity to interrogate must be lawfully obtained There must be an absence of force, threat of force, or promise of leniency There must be compliance with requirements for warnings of constitutional rights to a custodial suspect Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-3 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Compliance Since Miranda The police have been compliant with the rule of Miranda Studies on the efficacy of interrogation suggest that interrogations leading to confession are common and that American police officers are good at obtaining confessions Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-4 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Effects of Miranda on Confessions Suspects frequently waive their rights and choose to speak to interrogators Suspects continue to provide confessions May be at a lower rate than preMiranda Clearance and conviction rates have not been affected significantly Fewer police officers may attempt to interrogate Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-5 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Who is Likely to Conduct Interrogations? Neither race nor gender of the officer has an impact on the outcome Police officers who are most confident in their knowledge of the law are more willing to conduct interrogations Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-6 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Who is Likely to Waive Their Rights Per Miranda? The vast majority of suspects will waive their rights per Miranda in cases where the officer attempts an interrogation Some change their mind Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-7 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Why Do People Waive Their Rights? Police use techniques designed to obtain waivers Suspects are not all the same, personalities and experiences dictate who will waive Suspects with prior felony records are least likely to waive Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-8 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Why Do Suspects Confess? Suspect paranoia is the motivation that suspects have because they are never sure of exactly what information investigators have They may attempt to give false information to lead investigators in another direction Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-9 To overcome feelings of guilt and remorse, as well as the fear of retaliation or of losing love A suspect becomes entangled in the decision on whether to speak or invoke the rights to silence and attorney, making those decisions of their perceived probability of the long and short term consequences © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Does a Waiver Affect the Case? No statistical difference has been documented between those who waived their rights and those who did not in either subsequent charging or severity of punishment Those who waive are twice as likely to have their case resolved through plea bargaining Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-10 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Child Sexual Assault Child molesters are among the most likely to confess Give the suspect permission to talk Don’t share any embarrassing secrets to establish rapport Be prepared to listen Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-25 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Hate Crimes Some suspects assume police share their biased opinions Encourage suspects to talk about their feelings toward a particular minority group Ask the suspect to express their bias motivation Ask questions to establish motive of hate Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-26 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 The Confession Statement Always allow the perpetrator to read and make corrections to their statement Ask if they have anything else to say, the majority will apologize Have them put this in their own writing at the bottom of the confession Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-27 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Homicide Questions regarding a homicide are usually organized around the four phases of the murder: pre-crime phase, the murder event, the disposal of the body, and the post-crime event Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-28 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Pre-Crime Phase Ask the offender what he or she did the day prior to the murder and the thoughts and feelings prior to encountering the victim Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-29 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 The Murder Event Question the suspect about how access was gained to the victim, about conversations with the victim, and specifics on methods of torture that were used on the victim Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-30 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Disposal of the Body Explore the thoughts that the offender had during the killing of the victim and during the disposal of the body Did the offender take anything from the victim? Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-31 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Post-Crime Phase What did the killer after the murder took place? What was the state of mind? Does anything indicate guilt, remorse, or a lack of feelings for the victim? Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-32 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Sexual Assault Cases Sex offenders generally tend to confess more frequently than other suspects Offer a viable alternative to age or consent Gather physical evidence from the offender as part of the interrogation strategy Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-33 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Truth and Consequences What really happens if the police fail to read a suspect his rights or use coercion to extract information? Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-34 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Answer: If the police fail to read a suspect his or her rights, they can't use anything the suspect says as evidence against him or her at trial The prosecution may use the statements to impeach the defendant if he or she decides to take the stand in court The individual may still be tried in court if sufficient evidence exists that is not related to the illegally gained evidence Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-35 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Truth and Consequences Police officers interrogate suspects in most felony arrests Wrong! Officers may not even attempt interrogations in almost half of all felony arrests Experience, motivation, training, and heavy caseloads are among the factors that influence the decision Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-36 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Truth and Consequences Does an undercover police officer have to admit who they are if a person asks? NO! Police officers are not required to reveal their undercover identity Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-37 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Truth and Consequences If you haven’t been arrested and a police officer wants to question you about a crime, you must answer the questions Wrong! Refusing to answer a police officer’s questions is not a crime Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-38 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Truth and Consequences There is no law against lying to the police Wrong! It is a five year felony to lie to a Federal police officer (Title 18, Part I, Chapter 47, § 1001) Remember Martha Stewart! Some, but not all, states have similar laws Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-39 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 ... Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-10 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 False Confession Defined Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and. .. Miranda rights are permitted Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-20 © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458 Non-coercive Interrogation. .. Methods of Interrogation Generally suspects respond with admission to a humane interrogation approach Smart Talk: Contemporary Interviewing and Interrogation By Denise Kindschi Gosselin 11-22