The Reid technique is a commonly used police interrogation technique in North America (King & Snook, 2009). This interrogation technique is used to elicit confessions from people suspected of committing a criminal offense. The Reid technique requires that police officers collect factual evidence, then the interviewer questions the suspect in a non-accusatory manner (King & Snook, 2009). Truth or deception is then determined based on behavioural analysis of the suspect. If deception is detected by the interrogator, then the 9-step psychological Reid technique is applied (King & Snook, 2009). However, interrogators often apply this technique as the first step without any physical evidence, where they coerce their suspect to incriminate themselves
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Therefore, the reliability and credibility of the information gathered is of utmost importance to the investigation (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). The outcome of an interrogation is influenced by a number of factors; nature of the interrogation, age and motivation of suspect, intelligence level, mental health, personality, and access to legal advice (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). With this in mind, the outcome of the interrogation is not always as expected as some individuals break easily under pressure ((Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). According to the study conducted by Kassin, Drizin, Grisso, Gudjonsson, Leo & Redlich (2010), false confessions have a devastating impact on the well-being of innocent people as it is one of the leading cause of wrongful convictions. Furthermore, the courts tend to attach significant importance to a suspect’s confession regardless if its true or not (Kassin, et al., 2010). Therefore, interrogators should ensure that innocent people are not coerced into providing a false confession. Every individual charged with an offense is required due process through the courts (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). However, the Reid technique exploits suspects vulnerability through manipulative and confrontational tactics (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). This technique is guilt presumptive and is used to break down the suspects resistance and denial …show more content…
Furthermore, a confession has significant importance in a court of law (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, the investigators can cut corners in their investigative work and still have a high probability of getting a conviction (Rubin, 2014). As a result, ethical issues and concerns are often brought about based on the deceptive tactics used in the Reid technique. The study by Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman (2014), examines why innocent people confess to a criminal act they are innocent of. The findings supported the arguments that people do and the sad truth is, the Reid technique facilitates most of these confessions (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). People under age 25 are more likely to be pressured into making a false confession that links them to a violent criminal activity (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). The innocence project found that in the last 25 years 38% of young people age 18 and under were later exonerated through DNA evidence after being convicted on false testimonies (Rubin, 2014). Juveniles make up a significant number of vulnerable population in society (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, they are susceptible to pressure as they do not understand their rights and how the criminal justice system works (Rubin,
Therefore, the reliability and credibility of the information gathered is of utmost importance to the investigation (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). The outcome of an interrogation is influenced by a number of factors; nature of the interrogation, age and motivation of suspect, intelligence level, mental health, personality, and access to legal advice (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). With this in mind, the outcome of the interrogation is not always as expected as some individuals break easily under pressure ((Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). According to the study conducted by Kassin, Drizin, Grisso, Gudjonsson, Leo & Redlich (2010), false confessions have a devastating impact on the well-being of innocent people as it is one of the leading cause of wrongful convictions. Furthermore, the courts tend to attach significant importance to a suspect’s confession regardless if its true or not (Kassin, et al., 2010). Therefore, interrogators should ensure that innocent people are not coerced into providing a false confession. Every individual charged with an offense is required due process through the courts (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). However, the Reid technique exploits suspects vulnerability through manipulative and confrontational tactics (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). This technique is guilt presumptive and is used to break down the suspects resistance and denial …show more content…
Furthermore, a confession has significant importance in a court of law (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, the investigators can cut corners in their investigative work and still have a high probability of getting a conviction (Rubin, 2014). As a result, ethical issues and concerns are often brought about based on the deceptive tactics used in the Reid technique. The study by Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman (2014), examines why innocent people confess to a criminal act they are innocent of. The findings supported the arguments that people do and the sad truth is, the Reid technique facilitates most of these confessions (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). People under age 25 are more likely to be pressured into making a false confession that links them to a violent criminal activity (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). The innocence project found that in the last 25 years 38% of young people age 18 and under were later exonerated through DNA evidence after being convicted on false testimonies (Rubin, 2014). Juveniles make up a significant number of vulnerable population in society (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, they are susceptible to pressure as they do not understand their rights and how the criminal justice system works (Rubin,