The Science-Based Pathways to Understanding False Confessions and Wrongful Convictions

Andrew Mayes' expert analysis of a case of memory distortion

In this single-case study of memory distortion where Andrew Mayes was involved as an expert witness, a surgeon falsely recalled aspects of a patient safety adverse event in which he was involved, and where he was put through an investigatory process by a regulatory body. Andrew Mayes' expert analysis of the role of memory distortion in this case resulted in the surgeon being exonerated.

From criminal interrogations to investigative interviews: a bibliometric study

This paper presents the results of a bibliometric study providing a comprehensive overview of the social science research conducted on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews since the 1900s. The objectives are to help researchers to further understand the research field, to better communicate research findings to practitioners, to help practitioners understand the breadth of scientific knowledge on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews, and to foster dialog between researchers and practitioners. To begin, after a brief description of Web of Science, we describe how we developed our database on criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. Then, we report the yearly evolution of articles, the journals where they were published, the research areas covered by this research field, as well as the authors, the institutions and the countries that published the most on a variety of topics related to criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. Finally, we present the most used keywords and the most cited articles, and examine the research on questionable tactics and techniques in the research field of criminal interrogations and investigative interviews. This paper ends with a critical look at the results, for the benefit of researchers and practitioners interested in criminal interrogations and investigative interviews.

Police suspect interviews with autistic adults: The impact of truth telling versus deception on testimony

Investigative interviews by police are socially and cognitively demanding encounters, likely presenting significant challenges to those on the autism spectrum. Behavioral and communication differences mean that autistic people may also be more likely to be perceived as deceptive in the context of an investigative interview. In the present study, 32 autistic and 33 (age and IQ-matched) non-autistic adults took part in a novel virtual burglary scenario in either an 'innocent' or 'guilty' condition. In a subsequent mock-police interview, innocent suspects were instructed to tell the truth about what they did, while guilty suspects were instructed to lie in order to convince the interviewer of their innocence. In the mock-interviews, innocent autistic mock-suspects reported fewer details that would support their innocence than non-autistic mock-suspects, although both innocent and guilty autistic and non-autistic mock-suspects reported similar levels of investigation-relevant information and had similar levels of statement-evidence consistency. In post-interview questionnaires, innocent and guilty autistic mock-suspects self-reported greater difficulty in understanding interview questions, higher anxiety and perceived the interview as less supportive than non-autistic participants. Implications for investigative interviewing with autistic suspects and cues to deception are discussed.

The interrogator-suspect dynamic in custodial interrogations for high-stakes crimes in Sweden: An application of the interrogation taxonomy framework

This archival study was the first in Sweden, and the first outside of the US and the UK, to apply the (Kelly et al., Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 9, 165-178, 2013) taxonomy of interrogation methods framework to repeated police interrogations of adult suspects in high-stakes crimes. Audio/video recordings (N = 19) were collected from the Swedish Police Authority of repeated interrogations of three suspects in three criminal cases. The interaction between interrogators and suspects were scored according to the taxonomy framework (Kelly et al., Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 9, 165-178, 2013; Kelly et al., Law and Human Behavior, 40, 295-309, 2016). First, there was an association between the use of different domains. Rapport and relationship building was moderately and negatively associated with confrontation/competition and presentation of evidence. Moreover, confrontation/competition was moderately and positively related to emotion provocation and presentation of evidence. Second, changes were observed during the interrogations. Presentation of evidence was lower in the beginning than in the middle block. Suspect cooperation was higher in the beginning than both the middle and end blocks. Third, an ordered logistic regression showed that rapport and relationship building were associated with increased suspect cooperation, and confrontation/competition and presentation of evidence were associated with decreased cooperation. The study's results are mostly in line with other taxonomy studies on high-stakes crimes from the US and the UK. The findings are discussed in light of theoretical frameworks, empirical findings, and current police practice. We also highlight the need for further research.

Police Officers' Interrogation Expertise and Major Objectives in Police Service and Training: A Comprehensive Overview of the Literature

Interrogation is a core task of practical police work. The outcomes of interrogation often provide crucial evidence for solving criminal cases. The success of interrogation depends on interactions between police officers and citizens. Based on a comprehensive literature overview, we propose a three-factor typology for interrogations by police officers. First, the competencies of police officers refer to the application of personal, professional, social, and methodological capabilities. The underlying concept of interrogation refers to the application of both explicit and implicit experience-based interrogation models. Communication refers to the goal-directed application of communication tactics and techniques. According to this typology, we discuss the major objectives of police interrogation in police service and training from police officers' perspectives. The present study provides guidance for practical police services and training by offering an evidence-based interrogation standard.

Psychometric Properties of a German Online Version of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 1

Suggestibility is a trait dimension that has been differentiated into Yield and Shift dimensions. Yield refers to the susceptibility to suggestive item content in a first question series (Yield 1) and a second question series following negative feedback (Yield 2). Shift describes the tendency to change answers over the two series of questions depending on social pressure. This study aimed at investigating the psychometric properties and the factor structure of a German online version of the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale 1 (GSS 1) and measurement invariance of suggestibility scores for gender and research institution. A total of N=560 (n=287 female; age: M=24.20, SD=4.60years) students participated in the study. We present Stanine norms for the application of the online GSS 1. Results supported the theoretical basis of the GSS by revealing the two expected suggestibility factors: Yield and Shift. As expected, a leading factor and a non-leading factor were identified for Yield 1 and Yield 2 and a single factor for Shift. We report psychometric properties (e.g., item difficulty, part-whole corrected item-total correlations, reliability coefficients). We compare the factorial structure of the German online GSS 1 with former versions of the GSS 1. Our data suggest widely measurement invariance for gender and research institution on Yield 1 and Yield 2.