The Interrogation Process, Techniques, and Approches - Essay Example

Interrogation process, techniques and approaches Interrogation processes: The interrogation system is important because it is an opportunity to test whether the suspects are lying or uttering false statements. When such lies or false statements are made, the police are in a position to reinforce the fact that the suspects are involved in the crime and could, therefore, challenge the statements delivered, or disallow the claims and alibis made. But, it is seen that strong and coercive methods of interrogation could not only be “an infringement of the suspect’s dignity and fundamental rights” but could force an innocent man to plead guilty to a crime, which he has not committed, in the first place.

(Williamson p.125). However, although the theory that innocence claims precedence over guilt in criminal law, it is necessary to enforce robust techniques to bring criminals into the process of law, and arrest future repetitions of similar crimes by the same person, especially against women . Thus interrogations are not only necessary to convict the guilty but also to absolve the innocent through right application of the interrogation processes and methods.Since interrogations are guilt-based processes, it is mainly intended to extract a confessional statement from the alleged suspect, who may be held responsible for the commission, or involvement in some crime, or tort.

Since interrogations are meant for extracting confessional statements from suspects, normally, this process is not applied on innocent people, or those whose role or involvement in the commission or abetment of crime is not sustainable. Technique of interrogations:Interrogations are primarily meant to disintegrate a suspect’s defenses and make him vulnerable to the process of law by signing a confessional statement acknowledging his role in carrying out, or abetting the crime. The most widely modern means of interrogation is called the Reid Technique of investigative questioning.

“The courts in the United States have recognized The Reid Technique® as the leading interview and interrogation approach used today in both the law enforcement and business communities. In 1994 the United States Supreme Court referenced our textbook, Criminal Interrogation and Confessions, in making their decision in the case Stansbury v. California.” (Company Information: Court Recognition). The approach to interrogation:Interrogation techniques are methods employed by interrogators and law enforcement agencies to arrive at the truth of alleged roles of suspects in criminal activities.

It is common knowledge that alleged offenders would not, on their own volition, confess to crimes committed or aided by them; therefore, it becomes imperative for interrogators to use physical or psychological threats, methods and ‘gentle’ persuasions in order to extract information. The confessions of alleged perpetrators would be useful in forming the basis of evidence for building a case to be presented in court by the prosecution, or the plaintiff. It is seen that the interrogators often resort to psychological methods in order to persuade the suspects to make confessions for wrongdoing.

However, these psychological methods are not by themselves, the same as contemporary psychology. While psychology deals with the developing and testing of research question to confirm or negate a given hypothesis, criminal psychology deals with the perverted and asocial thinking process of suspected criminals and offenders. The three aspects that could be attributed to interrogation methods could be seen in terms of:The detection of falsehood in the statements made by the alleged suspects, or offendersThe supposition of guilt and non-innocence established through the interrogation processThe use of interrogation techniques used in modern crime fighting systems.

(Redlich and Meissne p.2). Conclusion: It would be extremely injudicious to follow a standard template to deal with interrogational methods since crimes and criminals are as different as two sets of fingerprints. The interrogator needs to exercise caution, discretion and superior intelligence to figure out which scientific methods could m possibly produce the best results in the given set of circumstances and prepare robust evidences for further action plans to deal with the suspects. Works CitedWilliamson, Tom.

Investigative Interviewing: Rights, Research Regulations. Chapter 7. The Psychology of Interrogation & Confession. William Publishing. p. 125. 21 Mar. 2008 .Company Information: Court Recognition. John E. Reid & Associates, Inc. 21 Mar. 2008. . Redlich, Allison D., and Meissner, Christian. Techniques and Controversies in the Interrogation of Suspects: The Artful practice Versus the Scientific Study. P.2. 21 Mar. 2008. .