Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

Interrogation in Britain 39
from an initial denial to a full confession (Pearse, 1997; Pearse & Gudjonsson,
1999). These studies will be discussed in detail in Chapters 3 and 4.
IRVING’S STUDIES
Irving (1980) and Irving and McKenzie (1989) carried out observational studies
of suspects who were being interviewed by the police in Brighton, which is on
the south coast of England. There were three studies in total, carried out in
1979, 1986 and 1987.
The background to these studies is that in 1979 Barrie Irving, at the request
of the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure, undertook a field study
of interrogation practice and procedure of an English Criminal Investigation
Department (Irving, 1980). The Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure
(1981) was appointed in February 1978. Its terms of reference were to study
and make recommendations on the process of pre-trial procedures in England
and Wales. The main impetus behind the setting up of the Royal Commission
on Criminal Procedure was the result of the Confait Inquiry by Sir Henry
Fisher (Fisher, 1977). Sir Henry Fisher had expressed serious concerns about
the circumstances surrounding the confessions of three psychologically vulnerable
suspects and these concerns were taken up by the Royal Commission (see
Chapter 7 for a detailed discussion of the Confait case). The nature and fairness
of custodial interrogation was at the heart of the Commission’s concerns.
As a result they commissioned reviews and empirical studies into police interrogation
(Irving, 1990). Irving and Hilgendorf (1980) were asked to consider a
decision-making model of the interrogation process. Irving (1980) carried out
an empirical investigation into current practice of interrogation techniques and
psychological vulnerabilities. The main aim was to find out ‘What actually goes
on in English interview rooms during the interrogation of suspects?’ (p. 81).
Irving’s First Observational Study
Irving (1980) observed the interviews of suspects and recorded the tactics used
by interrogators. Irving also carefully monitored the mental state of the suspects
prior to and during the police interviews. Over a six-month period 76
interviews involving 60 suspects were observed. Although interviews in only
one police station were observed, the study gave important information about
various aspects of the police interview process.
Thirty-three suspects (55%) were interviewed within 3 hours of arriving at
the police station and 48 (80%) within 8 hours. Long delays were typically
caused by the unfitness of the suspect to be interviewed (e.g. severe intoxication,
a psychotic episode). Forty-three (81%) of the suspects were interviewed only
once or twice. The average interview lasted 76 minutes (range 5–382 minutes)
and the average length in police custody was 12 hours (range 50 minutes to
over 26 hours).
According to Irving, the main purpose of the interrogation was to obtain
a confession, either as the main evidence in the case or as subsidiary