Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

116 A Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions
a criminal record. A criminal record may make it more difficult for the
offender to obtain employment in the future.
ii. Concern about one’s reputation. Some offenders are reluctant to confess because
they are very concerned about what effect it may have upon their
reputation in the community. The higher a person’s standing in the community
the more he perceives he has to lose, and the greater his reluctance
to confess. It is, of course, the suspects’ perceptions of their own standing
in the community that is important in influencing their behaviour rather
than the objective reality of the situation. In some instances a relatively
minor offence, such as being apprehended for shoplifting or drunken driving,
may be such a devastating experience for some people that they may
become depressed and suicidal after being convicted. This reaction may be
even more evident when the convicted person holds a senior position, or
has led an otherwise exemplary life in the community.
iii. Not wanting to admit to oneself what one has done. After committing an
offence people may ‘suppress’ the memory of the offence, because what they
did is totally unacceptable to them (i.e. they push the memory out of conscious
awareness). Being able to ‘forget’ what happened probably functions
to protect the psychological well-being and self-esteem of the offender. As
we saw in Chapter 2, the more reprehensible the offence, the more offenders
are likely to exercise denial when being interviewed.
iv. Not wanting one’s family and friends to know about the crime. Some offenders
may be concerned that if their family and friends knew about the crime
they had committed they might be adversely affected. In many cases the
offender is undoubtedly right in thinking that his family and friends would
be hurt, shocked and disappointed when learning about the crime. In reality,
many families of suspects undoubtedly suffer from such tangible pain
as adverse publicity via local newspapers, being shunned by neighbours
and becoming the subject of much local gossip. Not wanting to hurt loved
ones, and the possible fear of being rejected by them because of what one
has done, are powerful emotions which may inhibit the willingness of the
offender to confess.
v. Fear of retaliation. When an offender confesses to a crime he may implicate
others and the fear of possible retaliation by them may act to inhibit
confession. Indeed, the fear of retaliation may in some instances be much
stronger than the fear of penal sanctions if convicted.
Reluctance to Confess: a Case Example
Sometimes the unwillingness or inability of people to confess to a crime they
have committed can take extreme proportions. A case in point is that of
Mrs R. She was a woman in her mid-fifties who was tried at the Central
Criminal Court in London for the horrific murder of her best friend: a murder
which she claimed to have no recollection of whatsoever.
Mrs R’s friend had been bludgeoned to death in her own home with a heavy
object during what appeared to be a frenzied attack. The murderer then tied
a scarf around the deceased’s neck and repeatedly stabbed and mutilated her