Police Interrogation And The Reid Technique

Police interrogations are often stressful for juveniles and adults alike. However, police interrogations and the practices used may be deemed to be even more stressful to juveniles. The Reid technique is a common practice used by police in order to obtain confessions from suspects, regardless of the amount of evidence the detectives have and regardless of guilt. This common technique involves several methods. The first, is to isolate the suspect in the interrogation room. Often times, this includes a period of waiting before the interrogator enters the room in order to increase anxiety levels. The next level includes accusing the suspect of the crime and then shutting down all claims of denial or innocence. Once again, the detective will tell
By doing so, the suspect is “given the choice” to admit to a crime, whether or not they are guilty, and making it seem like the crime was not really “that bad”. The officer will tell the suspect that in order to help themselves, they must confess and things will be less serious if they cooperate. As juvenile’s brains are not fully developed, they are more likely to be influenced by pressure and the Reid technique does just that. Since juveniles are not necessarily likely to be familiar with all of their legal rights, they may be more willing to believe they have no choice but to confess when they are put under extensive pressure. Furthermore, they may be less likely to exert their right to counsel or to stay silent. A forensic psychological evaluation may help to examine confessions. An evaluation may be able to identify vulnerabilities of an individual that may make them susceptible to techniques that may lead to a false confession. Furthermore, they may be able to identify aspects of a confession that may not be consistent with the personality or developmental level of an individual, thus pointing out inconsistencies in a