Predictors of Suspect and Interviewer Behaviour During Police Questioning (From Psychology and Law: International Perspectives, P 212-218, 1992, Friedrich Losel, Doris Bender, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-148224)

• NCJ Number: 148239
• Author(s): S J Moston; G M Stephenson
• Date Published: 1992
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: Walter de Gruyter & Co
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: Germany (Unified)

Annotation

Factors determining a suspect's initial response to an allegation were investigated, especially the relationship between case and suspect characteristics and police interviewing strategies.

Abstract

Information concerning police interviews was collected from questionnaires distributed to nine Metropolitan Police stations in England. Questionnaire variables included strength of evidence against the suspect, interviewer perception of offense seriousness, offense type, suspect age, suspect sex, criminal history, and use of legal advice. Nearly 42 percent of suspects admitted committing an offense; about 16 percent did not admit or deny. Evidence, offense severity, and legal advice were most significantly related to final interview outcome. Evidence was the biggest predictor of interviewer beliefs about the guilt or innocence of a suspect. There appeared to be few obvious links between case and suspect characteristics and police interviewing strategies. The only factors that seemed to exert any obvious effect on interviewing strategies were evidence strength and offense severity. In cases with strong evidence against the suspect, there was a marked tendency toward accusatorial questioning strategies. In cases with enough evidence to obtain a conviction, interviewers were simply concerned with obtaining an admission. Information gathering strategies were most common in cases with minimal evidence. 10 references and 3 tables