Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

Conclusions 621
The focus in this book has been on custodial interrogation, where suspects
are technically in the custody of police, have been advised of their legal rights
and are formally interviewed. As discussed in Chapter 22, self-incriminating
admissions and confessions that are obtained by undercover officers can present
serious problems, and it is this area of activity that requires greater attention
from research.
PSYCHOLOGICAL VULNERABILITY
There is no doubt that there are large individual differences in the ways in
which suspects cope with police interviews and custodial confinement. This
ranges from those detainees who are so mentally disturbed that they are
not ‘fit for interview’ to those who are ‘at risk’, under certain circumstances,
of giving misleading statements to the police because of some psychological
vulnerability (e.g. low intellectual functioning, high suggestibility and compliance,
psychotic symptoms, anxiety and phobic problems, and personality
disorder). Research into the psychological vulnerabilities of detainees dates
back to the early 1980s (Irving, 1980). However, prior to 1993 only three
English studies had investigated the psychological vulnerabilities of persons
detained at police stations. The main weakness of the studies was that the
evaluation was based on observations only (i.e. no formal interview or psychometric
testing was conducted). Gudjonsson et al. (1993) conducted the first
study where detainees were formally assessed psychologically at the police
station prior to their being interviewed by the police. It revealed important
findings about the nature and extent of psychological vulnerabilities among
detainees, which were discussed in detail in Chapter 3. Among the most important
findings were the low IQ score of many detainees and the fact that
many persons with intellectual deficits could not be identified as such from a
brief clinical interview. Similarly, other potentially relevant psychological vulnerabilities,
such as suggestibility, compliance, acquiescence, mild depression
and specific anxiety problems, are difficult to identify without a formal clinical
evaluation.
In addition to the vulnerability study, our research into Devising and Piloting
an Experimental Version of the Notice to Detained Persons (Clare & Gudjonsson,
1992) has assisted with identifying how persons at risk during police detention
can be better identified by the police so that their legal rights are fully protected.
Our recommendations to the Royal Commission that the police should
routinely ask detainees specific questions to assist with identification of vulnerabilities
has now been adopted by the Metropolitan (London) Police Service
and incorporated into the Custody Record. This demonstrates how research can
influence police practice.
An important factor in this research development has been the ‘partnership’
formed between the Institute of Psychiatry and the Metropolitan Police, which
has stimulated collaborative research and improved police practice (Fenner,
Gudjonsson & Clare, 2002; Gudjonsson et al., 1993; Medford, Gudjonsson &
Pearse, 2000).