chapter I have argued that if much is known about the interrogations and the
circumstances surrounding it (see the Sneek balcony murder case) defi nitive
answers can be given to the veracity of the confession. If less is known, some-
times defi nitive answers can be given, as in the Schiedam Park murder. I have
also argued that personality traits and the nature of the interrogations per se
are not very useful, but also not entirely useless, in identifying false
confessions.
Acknowledgement
I thank Menno Ezinga, Nicole Haas, Kim Megens and Roos Marijn Kok for
their help in analysing the interrogations of the Sneek balcony murder. All
quotes are from the formal police transcription of the interrogation and trans-
lated from the Dutch by the author.
References
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2002 ).
De Puttense moordzaak: Reconstructie van een dubieus moor
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Gudjonsson , G. H. ( 2003 ). The psychology of interrogations and confessions: A handbook .
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Horselenberg , R. , Merckelbach , H. & Josephs , S. ( 2003 ). Individual differences and
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Inbau , F. E. , Reid , J. E. , Buckley , J. P. & Jayne , B. C. ( 2001 ). Criminal interrogation
and confessions , 4th edition . Gaithersburg, MD : Aspen .
Isra ë ls , H. ( 2004 ). De bekentenissen van Ina Post [The confessions by Ina Post] . Alphen
aan den Rijn : Kluwer .
Isra ë ls , H. & Van Koppen , P. J. ( 2006 ). Daderkennis, politiekennis en sturend verho-
ren [Suspect knowledge, police knowledge and steering interrogations ]. Nederlands
Tijdschrift voor Rechtsfi losofi e en Rechtstheorie , 35 , 8 – 18 .
Langbein , J. H. ( 1977 ). Torture and the law of proof: Europe and England in the ancien
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N. S. Endler (Eds.), Personality at the crossroads: Current issues in international
psychology . Hillsdale, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum .
Mischel , W. ( 1979 ). On the interface of cognition and personality: Beyond the person –
situation debate . American Psychologist , 34 , 740 – 754 .
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Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing
Ofshe , R. J. ( 1989 ). Coerced confessions: The logic of seemingly irrational action .
Cultic Studies Journal , 6 , 1 – 15 .
Olson , E. A. & Wells , G. L. ( 2004 ). What makes a good alibi? A proposed taxonomy .
Law and Human Behavior , 28 , 157 – 176 .
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549 – 579 .
Van Koppen , P. J. ( 2003 ). De Schiedammer parkmoord: Een rechtspsychologische recon-
structie [The Schiedam park murder: A legal psychological reconstruction] . Nijmegen :
Ars Aequi Libri (met medewerking van Ch. Dudink, M. van der Graaf, M. de
Haas, J. van Luik en V. Wijsman).
Van Koppen , P. J. ( 2008 ). Blundering justice: The Schiedam Park murder . In R. N.
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Cases
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(see www.rechtspraak.nl ).
Chapter Five
The Investigation of Terrorist Offences
in the United Kingdom: The Context
and Climate for Interviewing Offi cers
John Pearse
Managing Director of Forensic Navigation Services Ltd.
This chapter will refl ect on how political and legal activity in the wake of the
atrocities of September 2001 has impacted on police terrorist investigations
and on the role of the police interviewer in particular. Specifi cally, it will
examine fundamental differences between everyday criminal investigations and
terrorist cases, recent legislative changes designed to limit the extent to which
a detainee may exercise the right of silence, and fi nally provide an insight into
the nature and type of tactics adopted by police in recent terrorist cases.
Introduction
The traumatic events in New York in September 2001 (9/11) served to propel
terrorism to the forefront of everybody ’ s mind; it was an outrage that precipi-
tated a great deal of introspection not only at a personal level, but also at a
national and political level. In the United Kingdom (UK) The Terrorism Act
2000 (TACT) had recently been enacted, replacing previous ‘ temporary ’ ter-
rorist provisions. Though framed by the UK
’ s experience of terrorism in
Northern Ireland, the introduction of TACT was seen as a tacit acceptance of
the need for permanent legislation to counter terrorist activity both within the
UK and abroad. It replaced temporary legislation (Prevention of Terrorism
[Temporary Provisions] Act ) in force since November 1974 which had required
Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing: Current Developments and Future Directions
Edited by Ray Bull, Tim Valentine and Tom Williamson
© 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
70
Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing
annual renewal by Parliament. The UK government ’ s response in the face of
this ‘ new ’ threat from global terrorists capable of executing a multifaceted
attack unfettered by geographic location included additional terrorist legisla-
tion and an examination of the UK ’ s response mechanisms and resilience to
counter such terrorist activity within its own shores. The Anti - Terrorism Crime
and Security Act 2001 (ATCS) was fi rst signalled by the UK government as
early as 3 October 2001. The fashion for legislation to be shaped by dramatic
and tragic events, however, wa
s not new; earlier examples appeared in the
aftermath of the Birmingham bomb outrage in 1974 (ibid.), the Omagh
tragedy in 1998, and more recently the Patriot Act 2001 in the United States
(US) after 9/11. (For details of the ATCS act, see Walker, 2002.)
The substance and evolving framework of this counter - terrorism review is
neatly captured in a discussion paper published by the Home Offi ce (2004;
see also the various reports on the operation of TACT by Lord Carlile and on
proposals for changes to the laws against terrorism; www.homeoffi ce.gov.uk ),
which acknowledges the international dimension of the new suicide threat and
the increased risks facing UK and US interests. It also confi rmed that the ter-
rorist groups used sophisticated new communication technology, were skilled
in evading surveillance and had the ability to assume multiple identities and
travel with some ease across borders. The unconventional, loose - knit structure
of multiple terrorist groups gathered across the world, motivated by religious
and cultural belief systems rather than any particular political ideology, was
also identifi ed as presenting considerable diffi culties for the gathering and
sharing of credible intelligence.
The successful prosecution of terrorist suspects according to the UK
’ s
established legal code remains one of the government ’ s main objectives in the
continuing fi ght against terrorism. However, in attempting to pursue such an
objective, a number of practical and ethical issues emerged that conspired to
frustrate. These included the reluctance of some foreign governments to allow
their material to be used in an evidential format and the continuing diffi culty
experienced by the UK intelligence services in being able to release sensitive
material that might meet the demands of the evidential threshold without
endangering the original source or indeed the methodology concerned. Such
a predicament was neatly encapsulated by the presence in the UK of a number
of terrorist suspects of foreign nationality against whom charges could not be
brought and who could not be deported to their country of origin for fear of
possible human rights abuses. These individuals were detained without charge
under Part 4 of the ATCS – a measure subsequently declared unlawful by the
House of Lords in December 2004 ([2004] UKHL 56. The government has
since repealed the Part 4 powers under the ATCS and replaced them with a
system of control orders under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (see
Walker, 2002 ).
The post - 9/11 period also witnessed an increase in the number of terrorist
atrocities around the world (e.g., Madrid, Bali, Saudi Arabia, Jakarta, Casablanca
and Istanbul) and in the UK a number of high - profi le, multi - agency counter -
The Investigation of Terrorist Offences in the United Kingdom
71
terrorist operations took place with New Scotland Yard ’ s Counter Terrorism
Command (CTC) assuming the investigative lead. Such operations included
Operation Springbourne (commonly known as the ‘ Ricin Conspiracy ’ ); the
search and arrests at the Finsbury Park Mosque, in north London; prosecutions
brought against those attempting to commit suicide attacks in London on 21
July 2005, and many others that are still to appear in court and are therefore
sub judice . The international dimension also served to focus attention on the
vagaries associated with so many different judicial systems and the compatibil-
ity, or lack of it, in relation to the exchange of evidence or the sharing of
intelligence. However, amongst members of the UK security services and CT
police there is a perception that the present legal system fails to recognize, or
maximize, the opportunity to gather intelligence from persons detained for
terrorist offences (see Report on the Operation in 2004 of the Terrorism Act
2000 , p. 37, para. 136 et seq.).
Police interviewing of suspects remains one of the optimum scenarios for
the gathering of evidence and intelligence and it may prove worthwhile to
examine what we have learnt as a result of empirical research in the fi eld of
police interviewing before we consider the legal issues.
Police i nterviewing in the UK
In the UK, the interview process stands out as the only inquisitorial element
within an adversarial system of justice. It is designed to allow the suspect an
opportunity to refute any allegations, to provide his or her side of the story
or to remain silent in the face of questioning and so limit the likelihood of
self - incrimination. For the police it is an opportunity to investigate the credibil-
ity of an allegation and, where necessary, to challenge a detainee ’ s version of
events. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) legislated that all
police interviews with suspects had to be tape - recorded and by 1992 such
technology had been deployed in all police stations in the UK. As well as
providing a more transparent and accountable reference to assist the criminal
justice process, the taping of interviews provided a reliable and accurate record
of exactly what was taking place for research purposes.
The conduct of police interviewing was subject to a major overhaul after
research conducted for the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice in 1993
(Home Offi ce, Cmnd 2263) revealed a number of areas for improvement; in
particular offi cers were found to be poorly prepared, lacking in confi dence and
often failed to grasp the core requirements of the prosecution case (see Baldwin,
1993 ). A national police interview training programme designed to remedy
such defi ciencies was implemented, and for the fi rst time all police offi cers in
England and Wales were provided with a clear structure to follow. The mne-
monic PEACE (
P lanning and preparation,
E ngage and explain,
A ccount,
clarifi cation and challenge, C losure and E valuation) was used to reinforce this
new model, which was aimed at educating offi cers in the benefi ts of an
72
Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing
information - gathering process, to provide them with a straightforward and
adaptable mechanism, and to steer them away from seeking a confession per
se towards a more ethical target of seeking the truth: a deliberate shift from
interrogation to investigative interviewing (Williamson,
1993 ). This pro-
gramme now represents the fi rst level of interview training for all police
offi cers.
Interestingly, a review of the quality of police station legal advice for the
same Royal Commission identifi ed similar problems and criticized the passive
role adopted by many legal practitioners and the limited nature of the advice
given (McConville & Hodgson, 1993 ). As a result the Law Society imple-
mented a new training regime and all police station legal advisers who were
not qualifi ed solicitors were required to achieve accreditation within this new
scheme (Law Society, 1994 ; Ede & Shepherd, 2000; this latter publication
has been described as encouraging a more confrontational approach by police
station leg
al advisers).
The availability of an accurate audio record of what took place in the police
interview opened up for scientifi c research a dialogue that had previously taken
place behind closed doors. Thus the role of the legal adviser, interpreter and
the appropriate adult (AA), parties independent of the police whose role is to
safeguard the welfare and rights of vulnerable individuals, were now also
subject to scrutiny. Issues surrounding why people confess or chose to exercise
their right of silence (RoS) also became subject to empirical investigation.
Research fi ndings into w hy p eople c onfess
The research literature suggests that there are three important contextual
factors associated with why a suspect would make an admission or a
confession:
• access to legal advice;
• the strength of the evidence against the suspect; and
• the interviewing tactics adopted by the police.
(For an excellent review of this entire area of research, see Gudjonsson, 2003.)
There are also three overlapping facilitative (or internal) factors associated
with the process of confession and admission:
• external pressure (persuasive interviewing tactics, fear of confi nement,
police behaviour);
• internal pressure (experiencing guilt and the need to confess);
• perception of proof (they believe there is no point in denial).
Intuitively, such factors make a great deal of sense.
The admission/confession rate in the UK ranges from 55% to 59%, although
there is often great variation between stations. Suspects who choose to have
The Investigation of Terrorist Offences in the United Kingdom
73
access to legal advice are about four times less likely to make a confession or
an admission compared to those without such advice (Pearse, Gudjonsson,
Clare & Rutter, 1998 ). The presence of a legal adviser was found to have a
signifi cant infl uence on the extent to which a person will exercise their RoS.
Moston, Stephenson & Williamson (1993) found great variation between sta-
tions, with 8% using the RoS in the Holborn area of London compared to
25% in Uxbridge. These researchers suggest that RoS was also associated with
the seriousness of the offence and previous convictions. They also noted that
RoS did not affect the decision to prosecute and that those using this tactic
Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing: Current Developments and Future Directions Page 15
