NCJ Number
139185
Journal
Crime, Law and Social Change Volume: 18 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (September 1992) Pages: 35-59
Date Published
1992
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Based on issues raised in Gary Marx's book, "Undercover: Police Surveillance in America," this paper describes and explains changes in the nature of police interrogation during the last half-century in America.
Abstract
This paper argues that during the last 50 to 60 years, there has been a profound transformation in the methods, strategies, and consciousness of police interrogators. Psychological deception has replaced physical coercion as one of the most salient, defining features of contemporary police interrogation. Whereas custodial interrogation in the past routinely involved physical violence and duress, police questioning now consists of subtle and sophisticated psychological ploys; tricks; stratagems; techniques; and methods that rely on manipulation, persuasion, and deception. Not only do police now openly and strongly condemn the use of physical force during interrogation, they also believe that psychological tactics are far more effective at eliciting confessions. Police power in the context of interrogation has thus become more subtle, more invasive, and more total; achieved through psychological manipulation rather than physical violence. The data sources for this profile of changes in police interrogation include published court cases; government documents; case studies; interrogation training manuals and materials; attendance at local and national interrogation training seminars and courses; interrogation transcripts and tapes; interviews with police officers; and academic and popular essays, articles, and books. 106 notes