Interrogations-and-Confessions-Handbook

Persons at Risk During Interviews in Police Custody 71
greater if that suspect had reported using an illicit (non-prescribed) drug within
24 hours of his or her arrest, compared with a suspect who claimed that he or
she had not taken any illicit substance during that period. This is an important
finding. The most likely explanation is that suspects who are dependent
on illicit drugs are motivated by factors that they perceive as expediting their
release from custody. Making a confession during police detention may be perceived
by suspects as a way of cooperating with the police and hence furthering
their early release from custody. In this way they can minimize the discomfort of
withdrawal symptoms associated with their lack of access to illicit drugs while
detained at the police station.
The two factors associated with denial, having access to a solicitor and previous
prison experience, are also of considerable theoretical and practical importance.
According to the logistic regression model, the odds of suspects not
confessing was four times greater for a suspect who had a legal representative
present compared with one who did not have access to a lawyer. As far as previous
prison experience is concerned, the likelihood of denial is twice as great
in cases where the suspect has been to prison.
Why should the presence of a solicitor so markedly reduce the likelihood
of suspects making a confession? There are at least two possibilities. Firstly,
a legal representative may advise his or her client to exercise their rights
to silence, particularly where the evidence against their client is in their
view weak. Secondly, suspects who have decided prior to the police interview
not to make a confession may be more inclined to request the presence of a
solicitor.
It is interesting that prison experience, either on remand or having served a
sentence, rather than the number of previous convictions per se, was predictive
of suspects making a denial. It may be that suspects with experience of prison
were more focused on the potential consequences of making a confession. Having
been to prison may have reinforced their view of the long-term consequences
of conviction and made them more reluctant to make a confession.
The greatest likelihood of suspects of making a confession occurred where
there was no solicitor present and the suspect had consumed illicit drugs within
24 hours of arrest and had not previously been to prison. The likelihood of a
confession occurring under those circumstances was 92%, in contrast to the
average confession rate of 58% for the entire sample.
DETAINEES’ LEGAL RIGHTS
Under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE; Home Office, 1985a, 1985b,
1995) detainees are orally informed of their legal rights and in addition provided
with written information in the form of a ‘leaflet’, entitled the ‘Notice to
Detained Persons’. Their five basic rights are the following.
� They can remain silent.
� They have the right to obtain legal advice.
� They can have somebody informed of their arrest.