Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Abstract
This report explores both the literature and practice related to interrogation
of suspects in custody, focusing almost exclusively – as the literature and
practice do – on eliciting confessions to crimes. The theoretical literature
lays the groundwork for interrogation practice by identifying the reasons
why suspects do or do not confess to crimes, while empirical findings pinpoint
factors associated with admissions and denials. Almost all manuals
on interrogation techniques cover the same aspects of successful interrogation
as the seminal Reid Technique: (1) characteristics/qualifications of
the interrogator; (2) pre-interrogation fact gathering and analysis; (3) the
interrogation setting; (4) pre-interrogation interview and rapport-building;
(5) analysis of behavioral symptoms; (6) interrogation of the suspect;
(7) detection of deceit; and (8) securing the confession. A comparison of
theory and technique reveals that the interrogation techniques advocated
in the literature take little account of the factors that the empirical research
shows might affect a suspect’s willingness to confess, and provide little or
no guidance to varying approaches for different types of suspects.
Against this background, the report next reviews training and practice at
the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Law Enforcement Training
Center, and the Homicide Division of the Boston Police Department,
as well as the personal experience of a senior detective in the MIT Police
Department. Findings indicate that federal and local organizations
provide little training specifically on interrogation; moreover, agencies
do not collect data to establish whether their operatives actually apply
the training they do receive, nor to evaluate the effectiveness of different
interrogation approaches. Law enforcement officers report that innate
personality traits and on-the-job learning, rather than formal instruction
or guidelines, determine success as an interrogator.
The authors also interviewed senior officials in Northern Ireland to determine
how practices in other countries differ from those in the United
States. A detective superintendent of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
noted that rules recently adopted in Great Britain almost preclude
confessions by suspects; instead, interrogation is viewed as a part of an
information-gathering process.
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