to govern the rules of boxing and make it safer):
The investigation of crime and the detection of criminals is not a game to be
governed by the Marquis of Queensbury rules. The authorities, in dealing with
shrewd and often sophisticated criminals, must sometimes out of necessity resort
to tricks or other forms of deceit and should not, through the rule, be hampered
in their work. What should be repressed vigorously is conduct on their part that
shocks the community. ( R v Rothman [1981] )
To free guilty suspects because there is insuffi cient evidence or because the
confession is inadmissible in court may be shocking to the community.
However, the former is the outcome in almost a third of investigations (Irving
& McKenzie, 1989 ; Moston et al ., 1992 ; Leo, 1996 ).
The Reid technique has been criticized by many over the decades, especially
because it is said to be responsible for false confessions which can lead to
miscarriages of justice. However, in Canada, where most police departments
use the Reid (or a related) technique, miscarriages of justice linked to inter-
rogations are few. Furthermore, when they do happen, they are often linked
to other factors such as misidentifi cation, insuffi cient expertise and police
misconduct. The rare recorded miscarriages seem to be attributed to long
interrogations where the questions were repetitive and very suggestive. Most
of the time, a confession is deemed inadmissible because it has been obtained
in an illegal or unethical manner rather than because it is false (St - Yves, in
press). Sometimes, however, the method of questioning can be too suggestive
and can corrupt the truth and lead to false a confession. The lack of objectivity
– commonly known as tunnel vision – and an unprofessional attitude are other
factors that we often fi nd when such mistakes occur (FPT Heads of Prosecutions
Committee Working Group, 2004 ).
One of the best ways to control abuses and misconduct is, without doubt,
the audiovisual recording of the interrogations and the sensitization of police
offi cers to the potential risks – especially the risk of obtaining a false confession
– associated with certain strategies and interrogation techniques; more
specifi cally, when the person being interrogated is mentally vulnerable (mental
health problems, limited intellectual ability) (see Kassin & Wrightsman, 1985 ;
Gudjonsson, 2003 ).
The Psychology of Suspects’ Decision-Making during Interrogation
11
In Canada, the audiovisual recording of interrogations is not limited to the
suspect ’ s fi nal statement (recapitulation of the confession on video), but
includes the whole interrogation, from the caution to the end of the interroga-
tion. In addition, to preserve a verbatim record of the interrogation, the use
of the audiovisual recording stimulates investigators to produce better quality
interrogations while protecting them from unjustifi ed accusations (Pitt, Spiers,
Dietz & Dvoskin, 1999 ). The audiovisual recording provides an objective fi le
the judge can use to decide on the free and voluntary character of a confession
and the circumstances in which it was obtained, as well as its contents, instead
of relying on the subjective and interested claims made by the protagonists. It
thus acts as an excellent way of preventing miscarriages of justice. It also acts
as the most faithful witness of the interrogation process (St - Yves, 2004c ).
Conclusion
The decision - making process during police interrogations can be infl uenced
by numerous factors. But it is the contextual factors that seem to have the
most impact on the suspects
’ decision
- making process and, moreover, on
which police offi cers have a potential infl uence. Amongst these contextual
factors, we fi nd the caution (the right to remain silent and to have access to
legal advice), the quality/strength of evidence and the strategies and interroga-
tion techniques. It is those interrogation methods that cause much of the
controversy, either because they appear coercive, raise doubts with regard to
the ‘ voluntary ’ nature of the confession, or can lead to false confessions and,
ultimately, to miscarriages of justice. However, in spite of the risk of miscar-
riages of justice associated with interviews with witnesses and victims, there is
no apparent opposition to the interview methods used to facilitate the mne-
monic recall of witnesses. However, training police offi cers on interrogation
techniques and the risks that some of these present, as well as recording the
entire interrogation process, are conditions that can considerably reduce the
risks and doubts associated with police interrogation. Police training in inves-
tigative interviewing is essential to ensure that the techniques used are in
conformity with the law and that they exert a positive infl uence on the result
of the investigation. It is also through training that we can recommend rules
(see St - Yves, 2006a ) and ethical principles (see Home Offi ce circular 22/1992),
as well as a philosophy centred on the search for truth instead of the quest for
confession. Nevertheless, it is often through confession that we can reconstruct
part of this truth.
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