To Challenge, or not to Challenge? Best Practice when Interviewing Vulnerable Suspects

O’Mahony, Brendan; Milne, Rebecca; Grant, Tim

doi:10.1093/police/pas027

Cited by 29 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Intellectually disabled suspects are more vulnerable to give in to leading questions ("interrogative suggestibility"), react more compliant to authority figures ("compliance"), and produce more memories that are imagined or distorted ("confabulation"; Gudjonsson & Joyce, 2011;Scheyett et al, 2009). Hence, police officers must take precautions when interrogating suspects with intellectual disability (Gudjonsson, 2003;Kassin et al, 2010;O'Mahony, Milne, & Grant, 2012) by, for example, asking questions in a simple and clear way, using short sentences and speaking more slowly, and avoiding leading questions and interruptions (Gudjonsson & Joyce, 2011;Herrington & Roberts, 2012). Police officers, however, are not particularly apt at detecting individuals with intellectual disabilities (Gudjonsson, 2003;Parton, Day, & White, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for intellectual disability in Dutch police suspects

Geijsen

Kop

Ruiter

2018

Journal Invest Psychology

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The screener for mild intellectual disability (SCIL) was developed to screen for mild intellectual disability (IQ below 85). The aims of this study were (a) to examine the predictive validity of the SCIL in screening for intellectual disability among police suspects and (b) to explore the prevalence of cognitive intellectual disability among suspects in police custody in the Netherlands. An unselected sample of police suspects (N = 178) charged with a variety of offences was assessed with the SCIL, aWechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)-III-NL short form, and a malingering measure. The SCIL screened 50.0% of the sample as having mild intellectual disabilities, whereas the short WAIS classified 84.3% of the sample with an IQ below 85. A principal component analysis of the SCIL showed ambiguous results. Furthermore, the short WAIS classified 55.6% of our sample with a borderline IQ (IQ = 70-84), 84.3% with an IQ below 85 and 28.7% with an IQ below 70. The prevalence of intellectual disability in this sample of Dutch (police) suspects appears to be higher than prevalence rates found in previous international studies. More exhaustive research is needed to examine the prevalence of intellectual disabilities in police suspects, and the utility of the SCIL to screen for these disabilities. KEYWORDS intellectual disabilities, police suspects, police custody, SCIL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. suspected of having seduced a 16-year-old girl to perform sexual acts in front of a webcam, but in the invitation letter, the police did not mention he was a suspect in a sexual offence case. The man came to the police station and agreed to participate in the interrogation voluntarily without being arrested. Early on, the young man stated that he received special education in the past and that he resided in an assisted living residence; yet despite this information, the police interrogators did not notify the man he could have access to a lawyer, and they proceeded to interrogate him about the alleged sexual offence. In the subsequent verdict, the court recognised that it had been obvious that the suspect was suffering from intellectual disability and that he was not able to oversee his situation and to determine his position during the police investigation; hence, the court blamed the police officers for not having informed the suspect he had access to a lawyer and ruled that his statement was deemed inadmissible because of violation of the principle of a fair trial (Arnhem Court, 2011).The above is an example of recent Dutch jurisprudence, which illustrates that it is important that police officers take certain vulnerabilities of suspects (e.g., intellectual disability)...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Screening for intellectual disability in Dutch police suspects

Geijsen

Kop

Ruiter

2018

Journal Invest Psychology

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“…There is no universal definition of what constitutes a vulnerable witness (Bull, ). However, those who might be considered vulnerable include child witnesses (Bull, ), individuals with mental illnesses and personality disorders (O'Mahony, Milne, & Grant, ), and individuals with intellectual disabilities (G. Gudjonsson & Joyce, ). For example, individuals with an intellectual disability may be more susceptible to leading questions (Bowles & Sharman, ) and misleading questions (Henry & Gudjonsson, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer manner on false confessions

Paton

Bain

Gozna

et al. 2018

Journal Invest Psychology

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Although it is known that interrogation tactics can elicit false confessions and interviewer manner may determine the outcome of an interview, the combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer manner on false confessions have not been examined empirically. Following a false accusation of theft, participants were interviewed in one of four questioning conditions (minimisation, repetitive questioning, leading questions, and nonleading questions) in which interviewers adopted a stern or friendly manner.Perceptions of pressure to confess and interviewer behaviours were measured. Significantly more false confessions were elicited using nonleading questions rather than repetitive questioning. More false confessions were elicited in the friendly interviewer condition than in the stern interviewer condition. Neither interviewer manner nor questioning technique had a significant effect on subjective ratings of pressure to confess. The finding that false confessions may be elicited in the absence of coercive tactics may have implications for informing best practices in investigative interviewing.

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“…Without support they may not provide an account that is as complete, coherent and accurate as is possible and this may lead to unreliable police interviews (Gudjonsson, 2010). There is little, if any, guidance available to police officers on how to effectively challenge discrepancies in an account provided by a vulnerable suspect (O'Mahony et al, 2012). Similar difficulties may be found in the courtroom when persons with vulnerabilities provide oral testimony.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accused of murder: supporting the communication needs of a vulnerable defendant at court and at the police station

O’Mahony¹

2012

Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour

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Purpose -This paper's aim is to examine the interaction between an intermediary, a vulnerable defendant and barristers and the judge in a courtroom. The paper seeks to consider how the communication needs of vulnerable defendants, such as those with learning disabilities, should be addressed in the criminal justice system.Design/methodology/approach -The paper considers the legal landscape for dealing with vulnerable defendants. A case example and court and police interview transcripts are then used to illustrate some of the communication needs of vulnerable people in the criminal justice system.Findings -The paper highlights the complexities of the language that is used by lawyers in the courtroom and the difficulties that this can cause for a vulnerable defendant. Additionally, this paper reveals the difficulties that the police caution can present to a vulnerable suspect in custody.Social implications -Vulnerable witnesses or defendants may be disadvantaged in understanding questions and the implications of answers that they provide in a courtroom or in attendance at a police station. The criminal justice system should support these individuals and provide guidance and training to professionals. The author identifies a need for more research in this area.Originality/value -This is one of the first published papers to examine the interaction between an intermediary, a vulnerable defendant and barristers and the judge in the courtroom. The paper considers how the communication needs of vulnerable defendants should be addressed in the criminal justice system.

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To Challenge, or not to Challenge? Best Practice when Interviewing Vulnerable Suspects

Cited by 29 publications

References 23 publications

Screening for intellectual disability in Dutch police suspects

Screening for intellectual disability in Dutch police suspects

The combined effects of questioning technique and interviewer manner on false confessions

Accused of murder: supporting the communication needs of a vulnerable defendant at court and at the police station

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