Purpose. The main aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of the appropriate adult (AA) safeguard for vulnerable adult and juvenile suspects undergoing police interviews. Method. We examined the records of suspects held in custody by the London Metropolitan Police at 74 charging stations during February 1997 (Medford, Gudjonsson, & Pearse, 2000). Adult suspects whose custody record indicated psychological vulnerability were included in the study, as well as juvenile suspects. Audiotaped interviews of suspects were analysed using a special coding frame. The contribution (or lack of contribution) made by the AA, the extent to which they fulfilled their role, and the effect of their presence on other persons and interview outcome were examined and analysed. Results. Of the 501 interviews available for analysis, 365 (73%) were with adult suspects and 136 (27%) with juveniles. An AA was present during 212 (58%) adult interviews and 135 (99%) juvenile interviews. The AAs of juveniles, who were mainly family members and friends, contributed more in interview, both appropriately and inappropriately, than did social workers and volunteers, although overall there was little direct intervention bythe AA. Conclusions. Although AAs contribute little to the police interview in terms of verbal interactions, their mere presence during the police interview has three important effects. First, in the case of adults, but notjuveniles, it increases the likelihood that a legal representative will be present. Second, it appears to be associated with less interrogative pressure in interview. Third, in the presence of an AA, the legal representative takes on a more active role.

Purpose. This study was concerned with examining the types of tactics employed by police officers to overcome a resistant suspect and elicit a confession to a major crime. The main hypothesis is that tactics that seek to maximize or exaggerate the strength of the evidence against the suspect, or that seek to minimize the suspect's responsibility or role in the offence will be present in serious cases where initial resistance was overcome. Method. The interview data from 18 serious criminal cases were subjected to a detailed analysis using a specially constructed coding frame that identified the nature and number of tactics present in every 5‐minute segment of each interview. Results. A total of 39 interviewing tactics were identified, of which 33 were factor analysed. Six factors emerged and were rotated using the varimax procedure. The first three factors were ‘overbearing’ in character. They were labelled Intimidation, Robust Challenge and Manipulation. The remaining three factors were identified as Question Style, Appeal and Soft Challenge. Conclusion. This Police Interviewing Analysis Framework (PIAF) provides the first systematic attempt to identify, analyse, measure and display the dynamics of the police‐suspect interview. In order to overcome resistance the police resorted to manipulative and coercive tactics. The nature of the tactics used and their frequency were found to be related to the likelihood that the courts would rule the evidence inadmissible.

In this article, we review two influential methods of police interviewing practice and their associations with false confessions. These are the Reid technique, which is commonly used by police forces in the United States, and the PEACE model, which is routinely used in the United Kingdom. Several authors have recently expressed concerns about the guilt-presumptive and confrontational aspects of the Reid technique and its association with false confessions and recommend that it be replaced by the PEACE model. Anecdotal case studies and DNA exonerations have shown that false confessions are more common than previously thought and are typically associated with two main causes: manipulative/coercive interrogation techniques and suspects' vulnerabilities in interviews. The main challenge for the future is to develop interview techniques that maximize the number of noncoerced true confessions while minimizing the rate of false confessions. In the meantime, the electronic recording of police interviews, which provides invaluable transparency and accountability, is the single best protection against police-induced false confessions.

This paper is concerned with examining the differences between people who confess and those who deny offences during a police interview. The main hypothesis under investigation is that psychologically vulnerable suspects are particularly likely to confess. This paper is also concerned with identifying variables that might be related to the confession process. One hundred and sixty suspects detained at two London police stations were assessed psychologically prior to being interviewed by the police. The results of this assessment, an analysis of the interview procedure and biographic details were subjected to a logistic regression analysis. There was no evidence to support our main hypothesis. However, suspects were more likely to confess if they reported having consumed an illicit (non‐prescribed) drug in the previous 24‐hour period, and less likely to confess when interviewed in the presence of a legal adviser or if they had experience of prison or custodial remand. In this study younger suspects were also more likely to confess. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

No abstract