NCJ Number
214246
Date Published
2006
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This chapter discusses the possibilities and problems in the regulation of police interrogation, based on the author's research on the legal regulation of policing and on the audiovisual recording of interrogations, along with recent work in regulatory theory.
Abstract
This chapter emphasizes that the purpose of regulations for interrogations is to specify good practice more than to provide a context for sanctions. This means that regulations can provide a framework for police training in interrogation as well as criteria for monitoring interrogations. Such monitoring to ensure the use of effective and ethical interrogation procedures requires that all interrogations have audiovisual documentation. This opens up the previously closed world of the interrogation room and provides interrogators with a means of viewing themselves at work. Sanctions are appropriate in clear cases of flagrant and persistent violations of well-publicized regulations. When it has been established that the violations result from a departmental subculture that undermines the regulations, then it is appropriate to target the organization for some type of public "shaming," which could involve removal of the chief officer and a public inquiry into departmental practices. 23 notes and 81 references