You Have the Right to Remain Silent (Use It!)

The Case for Recorded Interrogations

Posted from The Innocence Project

In an op-ed piece appearing in the Los Angeles Times, Washington, D.C., police detective Jim Trainum explains why he believes all law enforcement agencies should videotape interrogations.

I've been a police officer for 25 years, and I never understood why someone would admit to a crime he or she didn't commit. Until I secured a false confession in a murder case.

I stepped into the interrogation room believing that we had evidence linking the suspect to the murder of a 34-year-old federal employee in Washington. I used standard, approved interrogation techniques — no screaming or threats, no physical abuse, no 12-hour sessions without food or water. Many hours later, I left with a solid confession.

Then we discovered that the suspect had an ironclad alibi. We subpoenaed sign-in/sign-out logs from the homeless shelter where she lived, and the records proved that she could not have committed the crime… Even though it wasn't our standard operating procedure in the mid-1990s, when the crime occurred, we had videotaped the interrogation in its entirety. Reviewing the tapes years later, I saw that we had fallen into a classic trap. We ignored evidence that our suspect might not have been guilty, and during the interrogation we inadvertently fed her details of the crime that she repeated back to us in her confession.

Trainum goes on to write that this case was a turning point for him. State lawmakers, he says, should begin to require the recording of interrogations to prevent false confessions and wrongful convictions. While more than 500 jurisdictions currently record interrogations, only 10 states mandate it. “The only police officers I've met who don't embrace recording interrogations are those who have never done it,” Trainum writes.

Neither the Federal Government nor Washington State Law Enforcement currently mandate recordings of confessions.

9 Easy Steps to a Confession

Many criminal investigators and defense attorneys are already familiar with the Reid method for interrogations and confessions. For those new to the topic, the Reid Method is explained in the invaluable "Criminal Interrogations and Confessions" published by the Reid Group. This classic manual used by law enforcement nationwide is a must read for anyone involved in evaluating a confession or statement.

There are essentially nine steps to getting a confession according to the folks at the Reid Institute: (1)confront the suspect; (2) theme development; (3) stopping the suspect's denials; (4) overcomming objections from the suspect; (5) getting the suspect's attention; (6) the suspect loses resolve; (7) alternatives; (8) bringing the suspect into the conversation; and voila (9) the confession.

When investigating a client's confession to determine the accuracy and voluntariness of the confession, it is essential to understand the Reid Method. The Reid Institute Website is a wealth of information and includes publications, case law,trainings into the Reid method and even a critic's corner! The critic's corner focuses on the work of Dr. Richard Ofshe, a social psychologist at the University of California at Berkley. Dr. Ofshe and other experts have extensively studied the Reid Method and its connection to false and coerced confessions. The critic's corner contains transcripts of testimony of Dr. Ofshe and other experts in their studies of false and coerced confessions as well as their opinions regarding the Reid Method. For an entertaining breakdown of the Reid Method (complete with diagrams) check out "How Police Interrogation Works" by Julia Layton at How Stuff Works.

If you have a case with a confession, it is imperative to look very closely at the interrogation for signs of coercion or falsity. Consider contacting Dr. Ofshe or other experts in this field if you believe you might have a false or coerced confession.