Assignment 1: Interrogation
Scenario:
You watch
the process of interrogation conducted by a police department. You are
pleased to see that the police officers do not threaten violence and
terminate the interrogations immediately after the suspects state that
they wish to have their attorney present. All interrogations are
videotaped. However, you are bothered that during some interrogations,
suspects are presented with concoctive evidence as a basis for dealing
with resistance and denial. But one of the district attorneys assures
you that this is legal.
You
watch one interrogation of a rape and murder suspect. After the initial
interrogation, he is told that he is a suspect in a rape and murder
case and that the police have an eyewitness who places him near the
scene. (This is true.) The suspect is "Mirandized." He waives his right
to counsel by saying, "I didn't do anything." The officers ask him if he
wants an attorney, and he says he does not. They show him many pictures
of the crime scene and the victim and ask him what he was thinking
about when he committed the crime. When the officers ask where he put
the knife he used to commit the crime, he says, "I don't remember."
Whenever he says he does not remember, they ask him to imagine what he
must have done. After six hours of interrogation, he confesses to having
committed the crime. He says, "I must have done it." A confession is
typed up, and he signs it. He is jailed with no option for bail.
Tasks:
In
a minimum of 300 words, compare the interrogation techniques used by
the officers with the standard professional practices of interrogators
as described in your textbook.
In addition, with respect to the professional practices of interrogators, comment on the following:
- Signs of submission—when the suspect is ready to admit.
- The movement from submission to admission.
- Acceptance of accusation or assumptive questions and the development of admission.
- Steps to be performed after admission—the use of polygraph and collateral information to develop knowledge about the case being investigated.
- The process of closing the interrogation in a professional manner
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