Memon & Highan

• Interview


  Non accusatory

  Aims to gain info from the suspect and to see whether they are telling the truth -in order to see if they should be interrogated

  Question and answer format

  Notes taken after each response
• Interrogation


  Accusatory

  Aims to gain the truth and a confession, if suspect is believed to be guilty

  Monologue -prevents suspect from talking unless they're ready to confess and tell the truth

  Notes takes after truth/confession given
• Reids technique aims


  To provide an unpleasant situation for the suspect so they are more likely to confess and tell the truth in order to be removed from the situation

  This effects:

  -people with mental health problems

  -elderly

  -children

  -people who are stressed, have anxiety, depressed etc
• Reids 9 steps


  Positive confrontation - telling the suspect you believe they're guilty

  Theme development - presenting a theme to explain their guilt

  Handling denials - never allowing the suspect to deny their guilt

  Overcoming objections - using their objections to show they're guilty

  Procurement of suspects attention - personal space and eye contact used to engage suspect

  Handling passive mood - if they become upset, use it to show they're guilty

  Present an alternative question - present them with 2 options, one of which is more understanding

  Oral confession - a spoken confession of the suspect

  Written confession - converting the oral confession into an oral confession
• Gudjonsson - views on interrogation techniques


  He believed they lead to false confessions due to the psychological pressure placed on suspects during the interrogation process
• Birmingham suspects of IRA bombings

  In 1975, 6 men from Birmingham were arrested and imprisoned on suspicion of carrying out IRA bombings

  In 1991, they confessed but despite this their cases were overturned due to confessions being deemed 'unsafe and unsatisfactory
• Factors leading to false confessions

  Suspect being arrested suddenly or being interrogated over a long period of time

  Suspect being ill, stressed or intoxicated

  Leading questions during interrogation

  Young or old suspects
• Gudjonsson Susceptibilty Scales (1997)


  A narrative is read to suspects who then recall everything they can about the story

  Then asked Qs about the narrative, some are incorrectly leading, they're given negative feedback about their performance, then asked to answer Qs again
• Standard interview


  Receive little police training

  Frequently interrupt

  No structure for questioning

  Can ask any question as long as they are relevant

  Short answer questions
• Cognitive Interview (Fisher et al)

  Uses information about cognitive processes to improve accuracy

  Based on research into context dependancy memory i.e. Loftus and Palmer, Grant

  Based on belief that there is more than one retrieval path to the same memory
• Stages of cognitive interview

  Context reinstatement - ask the witness to re imagine the context of the crime i.e. sights and smells

  In depth reporting - ask the witness to describe the story in as much detail as possible, with no interruptions or questions

  Narrative reordering - ask the witness to re tell the story in a different order i.e. end to start, to find more clues

  Reporting from a different perspective - ask the witness to tell the story from a different perspective
• Memon & Higham aim


  (Review article)

  Reviewed cognitive interview based on:

  1- the effect of various components of the cognitive interview

  2- comparing the cognitive interview to other methods i.e. standard and structured interviews

  3- different measures of memory performance

  4- the effect of training quality of interviewer performance
• Memon & Highan results (of each theme)

  1- context reinstatement most effective -interviewers should focus on this if short for time

  2- hard to compare cog interview to standard interview as they're so different - better to compare to structured interview which builds a rapport with the suspect, doesn't rush the suspect, allows time for describing narrative and avoids interruptions

  3- hard to evaluate cog interview as too much info - cog interview may lead to alteration of suspects idea of what the interviewer wants

  4- interviewers receive little training - most they get is a written set of instructions, some don't even get that - M&H suggests a minimum of 2 days training
• Social Sensitivity


  Harm - Reids technique provides psychological harm

  Harm - Gudjonsson aims to prevent harm

  Political consequences - Reids techniques lead to false confessions which effects the justice system (critiques)

  Political consequences - Memon & Higham results can effect reputation of the police

  Stigma - Reids techniques can lead to false confessions so suspects gain a stigma of being a criminal even when they are falsely convicted
• Determinism


  Reids interview techniques show people lack free will as the techniques determine the false confessions
• Validity


  Gudjonsson is valid as it is based research of Loftus & Palmer and Grant, both of which have been validated

  Memon & Higham is a review article which is based on other research so it is not valid
• Individual/situational


  Individual:

  Gudjonsson shows that different types of people are affected by the interview techniques -some people are more vulnerable than others

  Memon & Higham suggests that participant variables of interviewers effect interviewing

  
  

  Situational:

  Reids interview techniques shows that the unpleasant situation created leads to false confessions - therefore showing the situation determines behaviour

  Memon & Higham show that whether having training experience or not can lead to improved interviewer techniques, this is based on the situation
• Usefulness


  Theoretical:

  Reids techniques avoided as they are not usefulness due to the fact that they lead to false confession -can have a direct effect on justice system

  
  

  Practical applications:

  Gudjonsson developed the Gudjonsson Susceptibility Scales -can be used within the justice system

  Memon & Higham make suggestions for interviewers i.e. use context reinstatement, 2 days of training
• Application - PEACE


  P lanning and preparation - prepare questions and points to prove argument

  E ngage and explain - build a rapport with the suspect by explaining situation

  A ccount, classification and challenge - allowing the suspect to give a full detail of the events then asking questions to try improve memory recall

  C losure - ending the interview so that the suspect is comfortable and willing to be interviewed in the future if necessary

  E valuation - ensuring information gathered is enough