Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing: Current Developments and Future Directions

by Ray Bull, Tim Valentine, Dr Tom Williamson

  suspects has increased from 7 to 14 days, and now up to 28 days ’ detention,

  yet there has been no empirical research to examine the likely impact of such

  a change on the overall process of investigation or to the psychological health

  and welfare of the suspect.

  The legal context is, in some respects, similar to the political dimension

  in accommodating the extraordinary challenges posed by extremist activity:

  pushing at the boundaries of accepted practice, treating terrorist cases in a

  ‘ special way ’ and putting additional burdens on the defendant in a terrorist

  case that perhaps would not be permitted in conventional prosecutions. But

  perhaps just as relevant within the legal context of terrorist investigations is

  the operational relationship between PACE and TACT.

  The principles underpinning PACE – fairness, openness and workability –

  are sustained in a major regard by the transparent and accountable nature of

  the investigation and prosecution process (Royal Commission on Criminal

  Procedure (1981) . PACE has been referred to as the most accountable piece

  84

  Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing

  of criminal legislation in the world (Pearse, 1997 : 8). Yet when PACE was

  fi rst introduced in January 1986 there was concern over the increase in police

  powers of arrest and their access (on a judicial warrant) to property and items

  that had previously been beyond their reach. The balance to such powers was

  a strictly controlled and regulated framework which governed the detention

  and welfare of suspects and provided statutory judicial oversight at regular

  intervals and with established maximum periods of detention. The 1981 Philips

  Report which brought about PACE was predicated on the fi ndings of a

  number of empirical studies in specifi c areas of legal and investigative practice;

  indeed, this was the fi rst Royal Commission to engage such research studies.

  PACE was designed to provide police with authority to acquire suffi cient evi-

  dence prior to arrest in order to facilitate a swift and effi cient investigative

  process and so limit the period of incarceration suffered by a detainee. When

  terrorist suspects are arrested under TACT they are detained and interviewed

  within PACE.

  According to the letter from New Scotland Yard to the Home Offi ce, in a

  number of major cases the decision to arrest terrorist suspects does not bring

  with it the luxury of prior research and the availability of suitable evidence. A

  large number of arrests are made to preserve life and maintain public safety in

  an era where terrorist attacks are designed to cause mass casualties and without

  warning. This impasse and operational dilemma can now be understood in a

  systemic context where offi cers are presented with a number of suspects

  arrested under TACT whom they are required to interview under PACE with

  little or no credible evidence to put to each detainee. In some cases, they may

  not even know the true identity of those arrested.

  In this study, it was possible (in a rather crude format) to examine this

  hypothesis and divide the cases into seven ‘ evidential ’ and 23 ‘ public safety ’

  arrests on information provided by the offi cers ’ concerned. (By design the

  major public safety arrests of the last few years could not be included in this

  sample as they failed to meet the criteria.) A number of distinctions emerged:

  • All seven suspects in the ‘ evidential ’ group were charged with non - TACT

  offences; of these six pleaded guilty and one was found guilty.

  • In interview the offi cers had suffi cient evidence and exhibits at the outset.

  • RoS was fully exercised in only one interview session out of 20.

  It is appreciated that this is a relatively superfi cial and subjective examination

  of a complex subject (with a small and non - representative sample size), but

  the fi ndings do support the general proposition. Eighty - two per cent of offi cers

  regarded public safety arrests as detrimental to the interview and detention

  process.

  It was also clear that in the ‘ public safety ’ investigations the offi cers regularly

  engaged in general fact - fi nding and antecedent interviews simply to buy time

  whilst extensive forensic searches were undertaken or intelligence was gathered

  from partner agencies in the UK and abroad that might be disseminated for

  The Investigation of Terrorist Offences in the United Kingdom

  85

  their use. The impact of this systemic failing is clearly evident in the minutiae

  of the interactions within this sample. There is clearly a need for more detailed

  research in this important area to examine the impact of ‘ intelligence ’ arrests

  on the investigative and prosecution process.

  Having touched on the political, legal and systemic issues that provide some

  of the contextual framework for this study, it is important not to lose sight of

  the relevant psychological research.

  There is no doubt that the introduction of audio - tapes to the police suspect

  interview spawned a noticeable increase in legal and investigative research that

  has substantially increased our knowledge and understanding of this complex

  social interaction. There is now a greater degree of confi dence in analysing

  such interactions because research has identifi ed relevant variables concerning

  the personal characteristics of the detainee and the psychological forces impact-

  ing on the interviewing offi cers; tactics and responses can be categorized and

  very lengthy interview sessions can now be broken down into a more manage-

  able and visual format (Pearse et al. , 1999 ). The infl uence and effects of par-

  ticular tactics and interviewing strategies designed to elicit a confession or

  admission are becoming well documented and a number of successful interview

  styles have been developed from this research. Crucially, an authoritative

  review of this entire research has concluded that the most frequent and impor-

  tant factor leading to a confession will be a suspect ’ s knowledge of the evidence

  against them. Under such circumstances it is clearly regrettable that a substan-

  tial number of arrests in terrorist cases appear to take place before offi cers have

  access to such infl uential material.

  In summary, there would appear to be the political will to provide the right

  legislative environment to combat the evolving terrorist threat, and there is a

  tacit recognition that conventional judicial boundaries may be challenged

  when terrorist prosecutions are brought, but the systemic issues appear more

  diffi cult to resolve. Currently, in major intelligence - led investigations against

  terrorist suspects police offi cers are expected to interview those detained

  without the benefi t of suffi cient evidence, a state of affairs that is wholly at

  odds with the published psychological research and one that is likely to seri-

  ously undermine the UK government ’ s determination to successfully prosecute

  offenders.

  The c limate of t errorist i nterviews

  In serious criminal cases police offi cers have sometimes in the past resorted

  to a combination of challenging and manipulative tactics but
there is

  little evidence of that in this sample. In Table 5.2 ‘ challenges ’ are ‘ never ’ or

  ‘ infrequently ’ used in more than half the interview sessions (52.5%). More

  surprising is the very limited use of the tactic of ‘ maximization ’ . This was

  ‘ never ’ or ‘ infrequently ’ used in three - quarters of the sessions. Maximization

  techniques can include emphasizing the serious nature of the allegation and

  86

  Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing

  their likely consequences, and are designed to increase the internal anxiety of

  the suspect.

  One possible reason for the lack of a more robust approach to terrorist

  suspects may be found in the offi cers ’ concern about applying techniques that

  may later be considered to be oppressive and so undermine the fairness of the

  whole interview process. Some guidance is available from legal texts that

  suggest:

  Hostile and aggressive questioning which puts pressure on a defendant will not

  necessarily render the confession unreliable. The length of the interviews and the

  nature of the questioning are the important considerations. ( R v L [1994] , in

  Archbold, 2000 : 1483)

  As a guide to assessment in this study I was content to use the advice in the

  PACE Codes of Practice (p. 122) that one can expect to see ‘ particularly

  probing questions ’ in the interview.

  Having listened to and studied 187 interview sessions, it was quite evident

  that the majority of offi cers were content to cross - examine a compliant suspect

  in relation to their knowledge and possible possession of countless exhibits,

  photographs and documents that had been recovered from various locations.

  Such activity was classifi ed as a tactic – ‘ use of evidence ’ – but on many occa-

  sions concentration levels diminished, people switched off and an automated

  process was underway. There was little or no variation introduced by the offi -

  cers, no checks or intrusive questions asked – no subtle references to test the

  depth and veracity of the information. It was often a support mechanism for

  the offi cers and a stress - free episode for the suspect. I found little evidence of

  any exposition of the many tactics and strategies advocated within the relevant

  police and psychological literature.

  Another tendency was to engage in extended trawls for antecedent informa-

  tion, an apparently established tradition that often developed into an examina-

  tion of political and religious belief systems and world affairs. In terrorist cases

  such information may be very relevant and considered important within the

  context of the wider prosecution issues, but in these examples there was no

  real urgency or consistency attached to the questioning. Offi cers were content

  to receive partial information from the suspects. Partial names, partial addresses

  and non - specifi c locations were not followed up by more detailed requests in

  a second phase of questioning. It was another automated process and I found

  little evidence of particularly probing questions.

  The lack of robust questioning may be explained by the fact that this

  approach does not form part of the PEACE model and the fi ndings may refl ect,

  at least in part, the result of PEACE training and its underlying philosophy.

  What is of some concern, however, is the lack of intrusive questioning on the

  part of the offi cers and their ability to respond to a changing environment;

  they were too content to accept without reservation or to challenge superfi cial

  answers.

  The Investigation of Terrorist Offences in the United Kingdom

  87

  A suspect oscillating between speaking to the offi cer and asserting the right

  to silence was commonplace in individual cases. Given this level of occurrence

  it is somewhat surprising that a special warning was applied in only three ses-

  sions. This rather powerful piece of legislation, brought in to discourage a

  suspect from entering a bogus defence late in the day and to encourage a

  suspect to provide an explanation as soon as possible, could lead to an adverse

  inference being later drawn at court. At present CT offi cers clearly lack confi -

  dence in a valuable legal power.

  Conclusion

  This research has identifi ed a number of important fi ndings in relation to the

  effectiveness of police interviews with terrorist suspects that will advance our

  understanding of this important legal and social interaction and contribute to

  the limited psychological research literature available.

  A number of contextual factors, often beyond the control of the interview-

  ing offi cers, have been identifi ed which conspire to prevent the opportunity

  for creating a fertile environment in which to make use of evidential material

  or to exploit opportunities to gather intelligence. In particular, the need to

  undertake ‘ premature ’ arrests in order to preserve public safety was identifi ed

  as an important debilitating factor and within the interview scenario it was

  noted that there was an absence of particularly probing questioning regimes

  employed by the interviewing offi cers.

  At present, the impact of the overall context surrounding the investigation

  of terrorist offences appears to cast an unhelpful shadow that has impacted on

  the climate within which the interviewing of terrorist suspects is taking place.

  The extension of the detention period suggests that this is an opportune

  time to conduct further research in a number of crucial areas. These include:

  • a comparative study to examine the qualitative and quantitative effect on

  the investigative and prosecution process brought about by the premature

  arrest of terrorist suspects in intelligence cases compared to evidential

  arrests;

  • the need to examine the impact of extended detention times on the welfare

  and psychological wellbeing of detainees;

  • an examination of the extent and impact of the use of the special warning

  provision in terrorist investigations and throughout the prosecution

  process.

  References

  Archbold: Criminal pleadings, evidence and practice: 2001 ( 2000 ). J. Richardson (Ed.).

  London : Sweet & Maxwell .

  88

  Handbook of Psychology of Investigative Interviewing

  Baldwin , J. ( 1993 ). Police interviewing techniques. Establishing truth or proof ? The

  British Journal of Criminology , 33 , 325 – 352 .

  Bucke , T. , Street , R. & Brown , D. ( 2000 ). The right of silence . London : Home Offi ce .

  Ede ,

  R. & Shepherd ,

  E. (2000).

  Active defence ,

  2nd edition

  .

  London :

  Law

  Society .

  Gudjonsson , G. H. ( 2003 ). The psychology of interrogations and confessions: A handbook .

  Chichester : Wiley .

  Gudjonsson , G. H. , Rutter , S. , Clare , I. C. H. & Pearse , J. ( 1993 ). Persons at risk

  during interviews in police custody: The identifi cation of vulnerabilities . Research

  Study No. 12. London : HMSO .

  Home Affairs Committee ( 2006 ). Terrorism detention powers. Fourth Report of Session

  2005 – 06 . Lond
on: HMSO.

  Home Offi ce ( 2004 ). Counter - terrorism powers: Reconciling security and liberty in an

  open society: A discussion paper . London : Home Offi ce , Cm 6147.

  Inbau , F. E. , Reid , J. E. , Buckley , J. P. & Jayne , B. C. ( 2001 ). Criminal interrogation

  and confessions , 4th edition . Gaithersberg, MD : Aspen .

  Law Society ( 1994 ). Advising a suspect in the police station: Guidelines for solicitors .

  London : Law Society .

  McConville , M. & Hodgson , J. ( 1993 ). Custodial legal advice and the right of silence .

  The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice, Research Study No. 16. London :

  HMSO .

  Moston , S. , Stephenson , G. M. & Williamson , T. M. ( 1992 ). The effects of case

  characteristics on suspects

  ’ behaviour during questioning

  .

  British Journal of

  Criminology , 32 , 23 – 40

  Moston , S. , Stephenson , G. M. & Williamson , T. M. ( 1993 ). The incidence, anteced-

  ents and consequences of the use of the right to silence during police questioning .

  Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health , 3 ( 1 ), 30 – 47 .

  Pearse , J. J. ( 1997 ). Police interviewing: an examination of some of the psychological,

  interrogative and background factors that are associated with a suspect ’ s confes-

  sion . Unpublished PhD thesis, University of London.

  Pearse , J. ( 2006 ). The interrogation of terrorist suspects: The banality of torture . In

  T. Williamson (Ed.),

  Investigative interviewing: Rights, research, regulation .

  Cullompton : Willan Publishing .

  Pearse ,

  J. & Gudjonsson G. H.

  (

  1999 ).

  Measuring infl uential police interviewing

  tactics: A factor analytical approach . Legal and Criminological Psychology , 4 (part

  2 ), 221 – 238 .

  Pearse , J. , Gudjonsson , G. H. , Clare , I. C. H. & Rutter , S. ( 1998 ). Police interviewing

  and psychological vulnerabilities: predicting the likelihood of a confession . Journal

  of Community and Applied Social Psychology , 8 ( 1 ), 1 – 21 .

  Report on the Operation in 2004 of the Terrorism Act 2000, p. 37, para. 136 et seq.

  Lord Carlile of Berriew QC. London: Home Offi ce.

  Rowe , J. J. ( 2000 ). The Terrorism Act 2000 . Criminal Law Review (pp. 527 – 542 ).

  London : Sweet & Maxwell .

  Royal Commission on Criminal Justice , Chairman Viscount W. G. Runciman (1993) .