Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

in the police may be undermined, which, according to Gudjonsson, encourages
police corruption. 568
Coercive and manipulative interrogation techniques may not only result in
false confessions, but the confessions, even if true, may also be inadmissible if
obtained in violation of legal standards. An additional, unintended consequence
of an overly coercive interrogation is possible long-lasting resentment and
bitterness among offenders. 569 Gudjonsson points to the additional possibility of
post-traumatic stress disorder in especially coercive interrogations, although no
studies directly support such a relationship. 570
Lastly, the so-called “boomerang effect” may occur when suspects “who
would have confessed in their own time refuse to do so when they feel they are
being rushed or unfairly treated.” 571 The other possible boomerang effect is the
eventual retraction of a confession by a suspect who confessed under overly
coercive conditions. 572
Section 5. Theory vs. Technique in the Literature
The interrogation techniques advocated in the literature can for the most
part be characterized as one-size-fits-all. They take little account of the factors
that the empirical research shows might affect a suspect’s willingness to confess,
and provide little or no variation for different types of suspects. While all of the
technical guides point out that no single interrogation technique works with every
suspect, and indeed that every suspect is different, for the most part they provide
little guidance on how to adjust interrogation techniques for suspects of different
ages, cultures, ethnicities, and criminal history, for crimes of greater seriousness,
or for cases in which the interrogator has stronger evidence. The only factor that all
of the texts cite as prompting confession is the length of the interrogation, a factor
that seems to apply across the board and need not be adjusted for any particular
suspect. Despite the variations discussed below, on the whole an interrogator
exposed only to the “how-to” guides would have little sense of a need to adapt the
techniques learned in the texts when confronting different types of suspects.
All of the texts account for seriousness of the offense and strength of the
evidence, but only in indirect fashion. Reid and the other techniques are, to
one degree or another, based on exploiting guilt, which for most suspects is
proportional to the seriousness of the offense. While developing a theme and
overcoming objections, interrogators are certain to use the seriousness of the
offense as part of their “selling” of the idea of confession. At the same time, the
use of minimization reflects the empirical findings that the more seriously the
offense is perceived, the less likely it is that the suspect will confess. Similarly,
interrogators will also use the strength of the evidence to convince suspects that
568
Id., p. 36.
569
Id., p. 35.
570
Id.
571
Id., p. 36.
572
Id.
201