Many strategies for interviewing and interrogating individuals have been explored over time. Some seem to withstand the test of time, others falter. Two such methods that have been used over time have been the Reid Technique, developed by John E. Reid with the assistance of Fred E. Inbau, and the technique of hypnosis. The similarities and differences of all techniques are what determine their success or failure. An examination of the Reid Technique and hypnosis will reveal why one is still used today and the other is rarely used.
The discovery of hypnosis extends back centuries. As early as the 18th century, Franz Mesmer “was the first to propose a rational basis for the effects of hypnosis.” (Learn about the history of hypnosis - a fascinating subject!, n.d.) Through time, various scholars have contributed to the understanding and use of hypnotism. It remains today to be a widely-known technique though few actually understand how hypnotism works or how to induce it. Today, it is largely used for mental health reasons, however it is still sometimes used to aid a victim or witness in recalling details which may be critical to identifying the suspect.
The Reid Technique was born out of a compassionate man, John Reid, who had an interest in human behavior. In the 1930s, the primary tools used for interrogation consisted of intense and intimidating questioning, with the use of the very rudimentary polygraph technique. (Inbau, Reid, Buckley, & Jayne, 2013, p. vii) On a quest to find a technique that was more effective, Reid began to observe the behaviors of subjects who were interviewed or interrogated, and realized a distinct pattern of behaviors and a routine succession of those behaviors. (Inbau, Reid, Buckley, & Jayne, 2...
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...ormation Institute.
Inbau, F. E., Reid, J. E., Buckley, J. P., & Jayne, B. C. (2013). Criminal Interrogation and Confessions (Fifth Edition ed.). Chicago: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.
John E. Reid & Associates, Inc. (n.d.). John E. Reid & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 4 27, 2014, from John E. Reid & Associates, Inc.: http://www.reid.com/educational_info/critictechnique.html
Learn about the history of hypnosis - a fascinating subject! (n.d.). Retrieved 4 27, 2014, from History of Hypnosis RSS: http://www.historyofhypnosis.org/
Ramsland, K. (n.d.). Forensic Hypnosis for Memory Enhancement. Retrieved 4 27, 2014, from Forensic Hypnosis — — Crime Library : http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/forensics/hypnosis/1.html
Sanow, E. (2011, November). The Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation. Law and Order. Retrieved from http://www.reid.com/pdfs/20111213.pdf
Garrett, B. L. (n.d.). The Substance of False Confessions. Criminal Justice Collection. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from find.galegroup.com.uproxy.library.dc-uoit.ca/gtx/retrieve.do?contentSet=IAC-Documents&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&qrySerId=Locale%28en%2C%2C%29%3AFQE%3D%28su%2CNone%2C28%29%22Wrongful+Convictions+%28Law%29%22%3AAnd%3ALQE%3D%28RE%2CNone%2C3%29ref%24&sgHitCo
Lord, V. B., & Cowan, A. D. (2011). Interviewing in criminal justice. Ontario: Jones and Bartlett.
As a result of Ford’s threatening interrogatories, the four suspects made a false confession, in which they stated that they committed the murder. The tight, dark room and the long time the interrogatories took made the four men subject to Ford’s psychological abuse and falsely confessed. Most of them said that they told him what he wanted to hear. The author Chapman (2013) argued that, “psychological research is applied to interrogation, the result can be that the officer already believes that the suspect committed the crime and is not likely to take no as an answer,” (p.162).
Wright, J. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice. (p. 9.1). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUCRJ201.12.1/sections/sec9.1
One of the last types of ways investigators are coached to detect deception is in the behavioral attitudes of a person being interviewed such as being unconcerned or over anxious (Kassin, 2005). The success rate of looking for these cues are very successful in telling if an individual is being deceitful and has surpassed any laboratory tests conducted on the subject. The laboratory test however did reveal some interesting facts. The research showed that people who had training and experience did not score better than the control group who received no training. In fact all individuals scored at the chance level with the people who had training scored just above chance or at the chance level. To check if special training in the detection of deception was more accurate a study ...
Although hypnosis might produce increased recall, it also produces more error; quantity doesn't always mean. quality in this case, he said. Through hypnosis it is easy for the interrogator. to implant false information into the mind of the eyewitness. In this way, again memory can be distorted.
Ferdico, J. N., Fradella, H. F., & Totten, C. D. (2009). Criminal Procedure for the Criminal Justice Professional (10th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
The act of interrogation has been around for thousands of years. From the Punic Wars to the war in Iraq, interrogating criminals, prisoners or military officers in order to receive advantageous information has been regularly used. These interrogation techniques can range from physical pain to emotional distress. Hitting an individual with a whip while they hang from a ceiling or excessively questioning them may seem like an ideal way to get them to reveal something, but in reality it is ineffective and . This is because even the most enduring individual can be made to admit anything under excruciating circumstances. In the Fifth Amendment of the Bill of Rights there is a provision (“no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself” ) which reflects a time-honored common principle that no person is bound to betray him or herself or can be forced to give incriminating evidence. This ideology of self-incrimination has been challenged heavily over the past s...
When the interviewee said “I went diagonally across the street”, the officer said “you went straight across the street”, and the interviewee agreed and changed her statement. Then the officer directly plants the idea in the victim’s memories that the two young people we men, directly after the victim said she did not know their gender. The “description of the suspect” continued on with the officer planting false information in the statement. The officer asked the closed-ended question of “was it a bright day, the sun was shining?” instead of the open-ended question of “how was the weather”. The officer did use proper open-ended questions regarding the clothing of the suspect. During the reenactment of the crime scene, the officer once again feeds his own narrative by planting the idea that the interviewee hit her elbow on the side of the car when, she truly did not know. The officer was cognoscenti of his proxemics and the audience can see that when the interviewee became emotional, the officer came closer to her and leaned
From the moment an innocent individual enters the criminal justice system they are pressured by law enforcement whose main objective is to obtain a conviction. Some police interrogation tactics have been characterized as explicit violations of the suspect’s right to due process (Campbell and Denov 2004). However, this is just the beginning. Additional forms of suffering under police custody include assaults,
Medalie, R., Zeitz, L., & Alexander, P. (1968). Custodial Interrogations in Our Nation's Capital: The Attempt to Implement Miranda. Michigan Law Review, 1347.
The Reid Technique is an interrogation process that consists of two parts, the interview and a nine-step interrogation. The interview, which is non-accusatory in nature, gives the interviewer a chance to gather information related to the case. The interview also allows the interrogator to gather behavioral information by conducting what is known as a behavioral analysis interview (BAI) (Inbau, Reid, Buckley, & Jayne, 2013). The BAI consists of questions that were created to provoke verbal and non-verbal responses from suspects so that they can determine if the person is involved in the case or if they can be eliminated from suspicion (Associates J. E., 2004). This interview is used to assess an individual’s guilt so that the interviewer can decide if an interrogation is needed. Once an interview has been conducted and the investigator feels that further interrogation is needed, they start the nine-step process that they believe will get them a confession.
Skolnick, J. H., & Leo, R. A. (1992, January 1). The ethics of deceptive interrogation. Criminal Justice Ethics, 11(1). Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The ethics of deceptive interrogation.-a012396024
I wanted to look at the investigative and criminal procedures following the arrest of an alleged criminal and the powerful effects via testimonies and evidence (or lack thereof) it can have on a case.There is an importance of the courts in regards to crime that can’t be over looked. The primary function of the criminal justice system is to uphold the established laws, which define what we understand as deviant in this society.
Roesch, R., & Rogers, B. (2011). The cambridge handbook of forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 52(3), 242-242-243.