Common Interrogation Techniques

[nabraxas]

Modern interrogation is a study in human nature. Most of us are more likely to talk to people who appear to be like us. Once we start talking, it's hard for us to stop. Once we start telling the truth, it's harder to start lying. When a police officer tells us our fingerprints were found on the inside doorknob of a home that was robbed two days ago, we get nervous, even if we wore gloves the whole time we were inside.

With a few exceptions, the police are allowed to lie to a suspect to get him to confess. The belief is that an innocent person would never confess to a crime she didn't commit, even if she were confronted with false physical evidence of her involvement. Unfortunately, that's not always the case (more on false confessions in the next section), but it's a big part of the reason why the police are allowed to employ deceptive tactics in interrogation.

The psychological manipulation begins before the interrogator even opens his mouth. The physical layout of an interrogation room is designed to maximize a suspect's discomfort and sense of powerlessness from the moment he steps inside. The classic interrogation manual "Criminal Interrogation and Confessions" recommends a small, soundproof room with only three chairs (two for detectives, one for the suspect) and a desk, with nothing on the walls. This creates a sense of exposure, unfamiliarity and isolation, heightening the suspect's "get me out of here" sensation throughout the interrogation.

The manual also suggests that the suspect should be seated in an uncomfortable chair, out of reach of any controls like light switches or thermostats, furthering his discomfort and setting up a feeling of dependence. A one-way mirror is an ideal addition to the room, because it increases the suspect's anxiety and allows other detectives to watch the process and help the interrogator figure out which techniques are working and which aren't.

Before the nine steps of the Reid interrogation begin, there's an initial interview to determine guilt or innocence. During this time, the interrogator attempts to develop a rapport with the suspect, using casual conversation to create a non-threatening atmosphere. People tend to like and trust people who are like them, so the detective may claim to share some of the suspect's interests or beliefs. If the suspect starts talking to the interrogator about harmless things, it becomes harder to stop talking (or start lying) later when the discussion turns to the crime.

During this initial conversation, the detective observes the suspect's reactions -- both verbal and non-verbal -- to establish a baseline reaction before the real stress begins. The detective will use this baseline later as a comparison point.

One method of creating a baseline involves asking questions that cause the suspect to access different parts of his brain. The detective asks non-threatening questions that require memory (simple recall) and questions that require thinking (creativity). When the suspect is remembering something, his eyes will often move to the right. This is just an outward manifestation of his brain activating the memory center. When he's thinking about something, his eyes might move upward or to the left, reflecting activation of the cognitive center. The detective makes a mental note of the suspect's eye activity.

The next step is to turn the questioning to the task at hand. The detective will ask basic questions about the crime and compare the suspect's reactions to the baseline to determine if the suspect is being truthful or deceptive. If the interrogator asks the suspect where he was the night of the crime and he answers truthfully, he'll be remembering, so his eyes may move to the right; if he's making up an alibi, he's thinking, so his eyes might move to the left. If the interrogator determines that the suspect's reactions indicate deception, and all other evidence points to guilt, the interrogation of a guilty suspect begins.

The Reid technique is the basis of the widely used "Criminal Interrogation and Confessions" manual we already mentioned. It lays out nine steps or issues guiding interrogation. Many of these steps overlap, and there is no such thing as a "typical" interrogation; but the Reid technique provides a blueprint of how a successful interrogation might unfold.

1. Confrontation

The detective presents the facts of the case and informs the suspect of the evidence against him. This evidence might be real, or it might be made up. The detective typically states in a confident manner that the suspect is involved in the crime. The suspect's stress level starts increasing, and the interrogator may move around the room and invade the suspect's personal space to increase the discomfort.

If the suspect starts fidgeting, licking his lips and or grooming himself (running his hand through his hair, for instance), the detective takes these as indicators of deception and knows he's on the right track.

2. Theme development

The interrogator creates a story about why the suspect committed the crime. Theme development is about looking through the eyes of the suspect to figure out why he did it, why he'd like to think he did it and what type of excuse might make him admit he did it. Does the suspect use any particular mode of reasoning more often than others? For example, does he seem willing to blame the victim? The detective lays out a theme, a story, that the suspect can latch on to in order to either excuse or justify his part in the crime, and the detective then observes the suspect to see if he likes the theme. Is he paying closer attention than before? Nodding his head? If so, the detective will continue to develop that theme; if not, he'll pick a new theme and start over. Theme development is in the background throughout the interrogation. When developing themes, the interrogator speaks in a soft, soothing voice to appear non-threatening and to lull the suspect into a false sense of security.

3. Stopping denials

Letting the suspect deny his guilt will increase his confidence, so the detective tries to interrupt all denials, sometimes telling the suspect it'll be his turn to talk in a moment, but right now, he needs to listen. From the start of the interrogation, the detective watches for denials and stops the suspect before he can voice them. In addition to keeping the suspect's confidence low, stopping denials also helps quiet the suspect so he doesn't have a chance to ask for a lawyer. If there are no denials during theme development, the detective takes this as a positive indicator of guilt. If initial attempts at denial slow down or stop during theme development, the interrogator knows he has found a good theme and that the suspect is getting closer to confessing.

4. Overcoming objections

Once the interrogator has fully developed a theme that the suspect can relate to, the suspect may offer logic-based objections as opposed to simple denials, like "I could never rape somebody -- my sister was raped and I saw how much pain it caused. I would never do that to someone." The detective handles these differently than he does denials, because these objections can give him information to turn around and use against the suspect. The interrogator might say something like, "See, that's good, you're telling me you would never plan this, that it was out of your control. You care about women like your sister -- it was just a one-time mistake, not a recurring thing." If the detective does his job right, an objection ends up looking more like an admission of guilt.

5. Getting the suspect's attention

At this point, the suspect should be frustrated and unsure of himself. He may be looking for someone to help him escape the situation. The interrogator tries to capitalize on that insecurity by pretending to be the suspect's ally. He'll try to appear even more sincere in his continued theme development, and he may get physically closer to the suspect to make it harder for the suspect to detach from the situation. The interrogator may offer physical gestures of camaraderie and concern, such as touching the suspect's shoulder or patting his back.

6. The suspect loses resolve

If the suspect's body language indicates surrender -- his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees, his shoulders hunched -- the interrogator seizes the opportunity to start leading the suspect into confession. He'll start transitioning from theme development to motive alternatives (see the next step) that force the suspect to choose a reason why he committed the crime. At this stage, the interrogator makes every effort to establish eye contact with the suspect to increase the suspect's stress level and desire to escape. If, at this point, the suspect cries, the detective takes this as a positive indicator of guilt.

7. Alternatives

The interrogator offers two contrasting motives for some aspect of the crime, sometimes beginning with a minor aspect so it's less threatening to the suspect. One alternative is socially acceptable ("It was a crime of passion"), and the other is morally repugnant ("You killed her for the money"). The detective builds up the contrast between the two alternatives until the suspect gives an indicator of choosing one, like a nod of the head or increased signs of surrender. Then, the detective speeds things up.

8. Bringing the suspect into the conversation

Once the suspect chooses an alternative, the confession has begun. The interrogator encourages the suspect to talk about the crime and arranges for at least two people to witness the confession. One may be the second detective in room, and another may be brought in for the purpose of forcing the suspect to confess to a new detective -- having to confess to a new person increases the suspect's stress level and his desire to just sign a statement and get out of there. Bringing a new person into the room also forces the suspect to reassert his socially acceptable reason for the crime, reinforcing the idea that the confession is a done deal.

9. The confession

The final stage of an interrogation is all about getting the confession admitted at trial. The interrogator will have the suspect write out his confession or state it on videotape. The suspect is usually willing to do anything at this point to escape the interrogation. The suspect confirms that his confession is voluntary, not coerced, and signs the statement in front of witnesses.

It should be noted here that if, at any point during the interrogation, the suspect does somehow manage to ask for a lawyer or invoke his right to silence, the interrogation has to stop immediately. That's why it's so important to interrupt the suspect's attempts to speak in the initial stages -- if he invokes his rights, the interrogation is over.

more here

[Salviador]

Fascinating! It's a skill i would like to develop, could be useful in telling if my friends have skipped a round or other such morally reprehensible crimes!!

[XipeTotec]

Fascinating! It's a skill i would like to develop, could be useful in telling if my friends have skipped a round or other such morally reprehensible crimes!!

you r not bound by the same protocols as the police... you could just use a hammer...

[dqd]

Wouldn't a five-iron be better?

[XipeTotec]

please delete

Edited March 20, 2007 by shroomytoonos

[Evil Genius]

I like this stuff too! Thanks for posting it, nabraxas! Everyone whos interested in this area should check out some books about simple body language. You would be suprised whatelse can be seen as an indicator of guilt. I will never forget the day i´ve tried some of these techniques on my ex...What a funny day. bye Eg

[devance]

http://www.ninehundred.net/control/

THE RAPE OF THE MIND

Some more stuff and free as from 1956.

I read it in 1972 and it did come in handy.

[devance]

Actually a rather long book I thought that the site had all of it so my apologys.

[Vertmorpheus]

[Drilled on overpriced pills for back pain, bear with me here guys :d ]

Yeah it's fairly icky stuff but then, most people's mums used all the same tricks of the trade, as do the more turned on teachers, doctors, religious leaders ...they all read the same thing haha... some people are just naturally good readers of others. Where all this falls apart of course is cultural differences etc... coppers have a hard time working out if some indig aussies are full of it or not for example as by n large we're not real big on extended eye contact esp with people in "authority"... I can easily have a two hour chat with someone and be lucky if I look at them for a total of 4 or 5 minutes.And I don't "look" black but spent enough time in "black" areas as a kid to have picked that up, plus what trickled down genetically (having indigenous ancestry but not being raised in a corro gunyah).So that's a bit confusing for em.

Some people also do not manifest the dr phil-style eye shifting left right up whatever... especially seriously crazed people as their weirdo neural networks means they can access a lot more with a lot less effort. When I first heard about the eye thing I spent a few hours practice on how to basically work against it... with almost total success. Even without any real practice, just sit n have a go.... think about something, then remember something. Eyes stayed straight ahead didn't they (unless you have betty boop style body language when you're on your own ;) ) . Also gets a bit cluttered, given that sometimes we think about remembering, and remember thinking. Building a rapport with someone helps out with the inconsistencies of course but eh... only if they haven't watched "insert dodgy,acronymical US cop show here" like everyone else and know about all this stuff already.

The baseline stress thing is interesting but not necessarily gospel... people can get antsy over things for reasons not entirely clear... I had a deeply shit couple of times at Surfers once... mentioning it tends to make be fairly uptight... but be jamming up when a murder at surfers is mentioned has bugger all to do with murder and a lot more to do with other things.

Like the ol load o crap that an innocent person denies the charge, whereas the guilty attack the evidence, or that people that give u extraneous detail are doing so to seem more believable... MIght be they just like to tell a good story, can be that the xtra info is in there because you KNOW you're talking to someone that has to know all teh details, or that is naturally suspicious of others so you can beat em to the chase, stupid question wise.

All very interesting though hardly set in stone... coppers question a LOT more people than they ever get to charge, if there is no actual evidence all the confessions in the world won't get you locked up past committal. If someone is silly enough to get into a conversational state with anyone that wants to lock you up away from your loves ones... they should be locked up on principle haha.

Coppers don't need spooky tricks for those they do collar, usually they've been dogged by so called mates or couldn't keep their own mouths shut around the wrong people, they have a house - car - shed full of evidence and previous form for similar things. If they get really uptight with you theyll just insult you til you snap and clock one of them, then they can get you in on the ham cheese n tomato and let the harder bastards in the watchhouse soften you up for them to later hand you a statement and tell you to sign it.Because maybe you didn't do that, but you did enough similar things for there to be physical evidence to support whatever they're pinning on you today.And you have rats tails, no front teeth and think nutting someone is a form of diplomacy.

Most interpersonal power is brought to bear by the powers that be by using your fear, guilt,worry against you. I stick out like dogs balls when walking around near coppers as when even the straightlaced middle aged woman is looking a little shifty, I just do my thing. Despite being kind of hairy, usually being filthy from work and wearing a lot of natural coloured advertisment free clothes. Say gday if you're that close to em. Why not? I'm not breaking the law, I don't break the law in anything like a routine way, I don't really know anyone that DOES break the law in anything like an interesting way.Even if you are breaking the law there's a good chance its not the flavour of crime they are actually looking for today (for every 10 cop cars you see around town, be lucky if two of them are actually in a position to do anything about you driving like a tool or having a quarter under your seat cover). So they're just blokes at work that happen to have glocks.By weight copshops have a lot more helpful drug pamphlets and domestic violence support agency contact details than guns. They're the same ones I hope turn up if someone breaks into my house and steals my TV for ice. Same ones that my dad works with in his capacity as a paramedic. A friends dad is a cop... he cooks good butter chicken. What's to worry about?

thru all that, running thru my mind ..... "Zey haf vays off mekkink you tok you know" .....

the thin green line :D

[chilli]

I think how good these techniques are depend on how guilty the suspect is... whenever I got busted for something I did it was so hard to see through it, but one time I got pulled in for something I didn't do and it all seemed so ridiculous, I couldn't help laughing at them... it was like watching a corny TV detective show.

[Jesus On Peyote]

Good post Nab, insightful read.

where all law abiding citizens here so we should be safe