NCJ Number
99032
Date Published
1985
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Judicial acceptance of deception in the investigative process enhances the moral acceptance of deception by detectives in the interogatory and testimonial stages, thus increasing the probability of its occurrence.
Abstract
The legal tests for entrapment permit police wide latitude in using deceptive means to obtain incriminating evidence. Deception in interrogation, another phase of investigation, is less acceptable to the courts than it is in detection stages, but it is standard practice for interrogators to use various psychologically manipulative deceptions to encourage suspects to confess to a crime. This includes convincing suspects that the polygraph is a reliable measure of deception although it is not. By making suspects believe in the infallibility of the polygraph, a skilled interrogator can often elicit a confession. The conclusion of the police involvement in a case comes with police court testimony. Deception is not permitted here. There is evidence, however, that officers perjure themselves in testimony to assist in the conviction of a defendant they believe to be guilty. This is not surprising, since throughout the investigative process the police use deception to build a case against suspects they believe to be guilty. Shifting the rules of the game at the testimony stage of the case may be considered by police to be a mere formality rather than a serious requirement to tell the truth. Fifty-seven notes are listed.