NCJ Number
79600
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 1981) Pages: 33-42
Date Published
1981
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This Israeli paper examines several negative effects of police interrogations of minors and argues that parents should be present when their children are being questioned by the police.
Abstract
Studies show that police interrogations, as they are presently conducted in Israel, with parents absent and with no lawyer, place the child in a position of weakness. Such an encounter can result in stigmatization, the formation of a negative self-image, and the exertion of pressure upon the child to sign a confession. To ascertain the reactions of minors to the experience of being summoned for the first time in their life for questioning by the police, interviewers questioned a random sample of those minors who were called in by the Jerusalem Police for the first time in their lives in 1978. A total of 88 minors were interviewed, along with their parents. The interviews took place as soon as the police interrogations were concluded. Minors reacted to the interrogations with feelings of fear, shame, and guilt. Most minors attempted to conceal the investigation from their parents; 59 percent of the parents did not know, before the interrogation of the imminent encounter between their child and the police. Parents reacted with confusion and fear, anger, and concern when they were called in to sign for bail. The study recommends changes in the investigative process. It contends that parents should be required to be present when their minor children are summoned to the police station for questioning. Legislation should be enacted to implement these changes. Study findings are appended, along with 28 footnotes and 6 references.