Educing Information: Interrogation - National Intelligence University

they have few alternatives but to confess. This argument can also be used indirectly
in the context of the other motivating factor behind the interrogation techniques:
fear. That said, the texts do not, for the most part, offer specific techniques that
the interrogator should adjust if the crime is more or less serious, or the evidence
stronger or weaker; they make few, if any, explicit recommendations for how to
use these factors to elicit a confession in different situations.
Aubry draws the most distinctions among various types of suspects. Like
the authors of the other texts, Aubry assumes that the basic structure of the
interrogation translates equally from suspect to suspect, and only the specific
approach within that structure should be altered. As previously noted, he lays out
specific interrogation techniques (e.g., The Singleness of Purpose, The Businesslike
Attitude, Calm and Matter-of-Fact, etc.) and attempts to identify the type of
suspect for which each should be used. While the prescriptions do seem to take
into account the confession factors that the empirical studies found statistically
significant, they do so in a haphazard way that does not seem useful for the
interrogator in the field. Instead of suggesting adjustments to be made based on
the various factors, Aubry instead seeks to prescribe a single technique for what
he apparently considers a comprehensive list of the types of suspects one might
encounter. The interrogator is left to memorize the various techniques and the
circumstances in which they apply, instead of learning how to adjust techniques
for specific confession factors. Thus, if an interrogator were to encounter a suspect
of a different sort than those listed, Aubry’s text would not help him to adapt
techniques to that suspect.
The Reid Technique attempts to account for some of the confession factors,
but ultimately fails to provide a guide on adjusting interrogation techniques for
the various statistically significant factors leading to confession. Like the other
texts, the Reid Technique assumes that the basic structure of the interrogation
— rapport-building, theme development, alternative question, etc. — will work
across the board for a variety of suspects, regardless of the specific characteristics
of the individual. Only within that structure does the Reid text offer some
adjustments to make, and then only in one particular area: for emotional and
non-emotional offenders, who require either a sympathetic or factual analysis
approach, respectively. 573 However, it should be noted that empirical studies have
not identified the emotionalism of the suspect as a factor that affects a suspect’s
willingness to confess. At the same time, while such differentiation may be
useful, it is also very basic. According to the empirical research, age, mental
state, and previous convictions/confessions are the characteristics that might
affect a suspect’s likelihood of confession. While the emotional/non-emotional
dichotomy may reflect some of those factors, one cannot assume that they do
so across the board. Moreover, the non-emotional young offender may require a
different approach than the non-emotional middle-aged offender, yet the Reid text
makes no such distinction. Like the Aubry text, the Reid Technique gives very
few specific prescriptions for how to adjust interrogation techniques in response
573
Inbau, see note 109, p. 210.
202