Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

Characteristics of the Offense
As explained previously, the more serious the offense, the greater the stakes in
terms of perceived and real punishment, which most likely inhibits some suspects
from confessing. 339 Thus, it might be theorized that the type and seriousness of
the offense, as detailed below, of which a particular suspect is accused might
influence his or her willingness to confess.
1. Type of Offense: Neubauer found that suspects interrogated about
property offenses confessed more often (56%) than suspects of violent offenses
(32%). 340 Mitchell found consistently that suspects confessed more readily to
property offenses (76%) than to violent offenses (64%). Neubauer argues that
the main reason for the greater number of confessions among alleged property
offenders relates to the nature of the evidence that the police have at the time of
interrogation. 341 In property offenses there is more often forensic evidence linking
the suspect with the offense, which gives interrogators more persuasive evidence
to convince suspects that denials are futile. 342 However, Moston, Stephenson and
Williamson found no significant differences in confession rates between offense
types. 343 Leo’s findings also “do not support [Neubauer’s] argument that there
is a significant relationship between the type of crime and the likelihood of
confession.” 344
2. Seriousness of the Offense: A number of studies have shown that suspects
confess less readily to serious than to non-serious offenses. 345 Gudjonsson points
out that the relative lack of incentive among suspects to confess to serious crimes
may sometimes be compensated for by the fact that the more serious the crime, the
longer suspects tend to be interrogated and the larger the number of interrogative
tactics utilized. 346
Contextual Characteristics
1. Access to Legal Advice: Gudjonsson notes that despite evidence that
receiving legal advice influences the confession rate, access to an attorney does
not appear to reduce the overall confession rate. 347 In other words, even with a
high proportion of suspects being provided legal advice, suspects still confess in
more than half of all cases. However, the presence of legal counsel is an important
predictor as to whether or not a particular suspect will confess. 348 For example,
Moston, Stephenson and Williamson (1992) found that over 50% of those who
received no legal advice confessed, in contrast to less than 30% of those who had
339
Gudjonsson, see note 110 p. 146.
340
Neubauer, see note 326, p. 104.
341
Id., p. 106
342
Id.
343
Moston, see note 195.
344
Leo, see note 110, p. 292.
345
See R. Evans, The Conduct of Police Interviews with Juveniles, Royal Commission on
Criminal Justice Research Report no. 8 (London: HMSO 1993).
346
Gudjonsson, see note 110, p. 147-148.
347
Id., p. 150.
348
Id.
170