Patterns of Interaction in Police Interviews

Abstract

Based on 27 authentic, videotaped police interviews, we examine how use of different influencing behaviors by police officers impacts on suspects' information provision. Our analysis focuses on variations in cue-response patterns across suspects from cultures that tend to utilize more direct and content-oriented communication (i.e., low-context cultures) and cultures whose communication is typically more indirect and context orientated (i.e., high-context cultures). As expected, rational arguments were more effective in eliciting case-related personal information from low-context suspects compared to high-context suspects. Contrary to our expectations, high-context rather than low-context suspects seemed to respond negatively in terms of explicitly refusing to give information to being kind. Additional analysis considered the effects of two types of intimidating behavior (intimidating the individual versus the context) across the low-/ high-context suspects. Results showed that intimidating the individual was more effective at eliciting case-related personal information from low-context suspects, while intimidating the context appeared to be more effective in eliciting case-related contextual information for high-context suspects.

Strategic Sequences in Police Interviews and the Importance of Order and Cultural Fit

“…First, the effect of intimidation is found to be highly dependent on the context in which it is presented (also see Beune et al, 2010). Second, research on conflict management shows that firm behavior could easily be perceived as a personal attack or could evoke hostile counteraction, setting in motion an escalatory, destructive conflict spiral (Giebels & Euwema, 2006).…”

“…NOTES 1. All statements are based on typical examples of each behavioral category observed in authentic and simulated police interviews (Beune, Giebels, & Sanders, 2009;Beune, Giebels, & Taylor, 2010). Because of translation, the number of words per question differs slightly; in Dutch, all questions contain exactly 30 words.…”

“…We constructed strategic sequences by contrasting either friendly behavior (relational) or rational arguments (rational) with firm (intimidation) behavior. These strategies have previously been suggested to represent relational and rational behavior well (Beune et al, 2009;Beune et al, 2010). Before the strategic sequences were constructed, our conceptualization of the behaviors was pretested in a pilot study among a student population (N = 58).…”

“…As such, we test the role of cultural fit, a moderator that may qualify the impact of strategic sequences on police interview outcomes. In doing so, we elaborate on existing theory and research on intercultural communication of police strategies in suspect interviews (e.g., Beune et al, 2009;Beune et al, 2010;King & Snook, 2009;Snook et al, 2010;Soukara, Bull, Vrij, Turner, & Cherryman, 2009). …”

A Sequence Analysis of Nonverbal Behaviour and Deception

“…Behaviour sequence analysis (BSA), also referred to as lag sequence analysis (LSA), is a useful method for understanding the dynamic relationship between progressions of behaviours and social interactions occurring over time (Beune et al 2010;Keatley et al 2016;Taylor et al 2008). Sequence analysis typically involves three key stages (Clarke and Crossland 1985).…”