Unit IV Project

BCJ 3701, Criminal Investigation 1

Course Learning Outcomes for Unit IV Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Outline the process for obtaining information in a criminal investigation. 3.1 Determine which type of interview/interrogation technique to use during an investigation. 3.2 Describe how an investigator might use a specific interview/interrogation technique when

interviewing a suspect.

5. Analyze the differences in investigatory procedures utilized in crimes against people. 5.1 Identify crime scene profiling and its various types. 5.2 Determine which type of profiling would be best to use during a specific investigation.

Course/Unit Learning Outcomes

Learning Activity

3.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 7, pp. 179–209 Unit IV Project

3.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 7, pp. 179–209 Unit IV Project

5.1 Unit Lesson Chapter 8, pp. 213–233 Unit IV Project

5.2 Unit Lesson Chapter 8, pp. 213–233 Unit IV Project

Required Unit Resources Chapter 7: Interrogations and Confessions, pp. 179–209 Chapter 8: Behavioral Evidence and Crime Analysis, pp. 213–233

Unit Lesson During the course of an investigation, suspects are identified and an interrogation is necessary. An interrogation is the accusatory questioning of a person believed to be the perpetrator of the crime with the intent of obtaining a confession from this person (Brandl, 2019). The interrogation of a suspect is a game of persuasion, where deception is used on both sides. Investigators carefully consider certain themes or tactics that are appropriate to persuade a particular individual to confess. It is important to note that false confessions can be elicited through these tactics. Therefore, caution must be taken in the steps of interrogation. Sometimes perpetrators operate under nontraditional motives; as a result, investigators are left with no meaningful leads or suspects. These situations are best approached through the use of behavioral analysis. Through crime scene profiling, psychological profiling, and geographic profiling, investigators can focus on certain types of offenders. In this unit, you will learn the difference between interviews and interrogations, how interrogations are properly done to avoid false confessions, and profiling.

UNIT IV STUDY GUIDE

Interrogations and Behavioral Evidence

BCJ 3701, Criminal Investigation 2

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Interrogation Techniques In this unit, we explore and learn about interrogation techniques. When an investigator questions a suspect with the intent to obtain a confession, this process is called an interrogation (Brandl, 2019). Participation in an interrogation takes place when suspects waive their Miranda rights or decide to have an attorney present. Several elements must be present to produce a successful interrogation (Brandl, 2019). First, interrogators need to plan to understand what type of information is needed from the suspect based on the facts of the case. Also, interrogators need to know how much time it will take them to interrogate suspects and need to have a plan in place if the interrogation gets out of control. Next, interrogators need to be proficient at asking the right questions and recognizing conflicting statements. Finally, interrogators need to be aware of the suspect’s background and need to be familiar with various interrogation techniques and strategies. So, out of the six elements, which one do you think you are most proficient in? The Reid Interrogation Technique John Reid, a consultant and polygraph expert, developed the Reid Technique of interrogations as a method for interrogating suspects to elicit confessions (Brandl, 2019). The Reid Technique consists of three different stages:

Essentially, the interrogator tells the suspect that he or she has committed the crime to elicit a response. Based on the suspect’s response, the interrogator classifies the suspect as either emotional or non-emotional. Classifying the suspect helps the interrogator determine which strategies are most effective at eliciting information from the suspect. Next, the interrogator controls the interrogation by not allowing the suspect to deny any involvement in the crime. Later and throughout the interrogation process, interrogators will use non-verbal communication intimidation, alternative questioning, and effective listening to elicit a confession. When the suspect begins to orally relate his or her involvement in the crime, the interrogator encourages the suspect to confess. Finally, if there is a confession, the interrogator has the suspect write their confession in a narrative.

Preparation Stage

Information- Gathering Stage

Interrogation Stage

BCJ 3701, Criminal Investigation 3

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You Conduct the Interrogation: Which Theme Would You Use? In the following presentation, you will view two scenarios involving offenders. After viewing the scenarios, you will identify whether the offenders are emotional or non-emotional. Following that, you will choose which statements or questions you will use to elicit a confession based on the offender type. Please click here to view the presentation. PEACE Model of Investigative Interviewing The PEACE model of investigative interviewing was designed to be conversational and a non- confrontational approach to eliciting information from suspects (Brandl, 2019). PEACE is an acronym for five different stages that take place during a suspect’s interview.

False Confessions A false confession occurs when an innocent individual confesses to a crime or overstates their involvement in the crime (Brandl, 2019). Why would someone confess to a crime that they did not commit? Stress-compliant false confessions are done to escape the punishing experience by the stressors present in interrogations. Persuaded false confessions occur when investigators make an individual believe that it is more likely than not that he or she committed the offense despite having no memory of doing so (Brandl, 2019). Voluntary false confessions occur when an individual comes forward to the police and confesses to a crime due to a desire for fame, guilt for another crime, mental illness, or to protect the person who actually did it (Brandl, 2019).

• The interrogator needs to know everything about the case: the best place, time, and day of the interview; and the goals and objectives of the interview before it starts.

• Other considerations include who will be involved in the interview, the roles and responsibilities of the interviewers, and the characteristics of the interviewee (age, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, or disabilities).

Planning and Prepartion

• This stage always begins with a handshake, an introduction, and a smile in order to create an atmosphere in which the interviewee will cooperate.

• The interviewer tells the interviewee the reasons for the interviews and outlines the structure of the interview.

Engage and Explain

• The interviewer questions the interviewee and listens to his or her version of events and asks clarifying or challenging questions.

Account

• The interviewer summarizes the interview and tells the interviewee what will happen next. Closure

• The interviewer determines if the objectives have been reached, and he or she will self-evaluate performance.Evaluation

BCJ 3701, Criminal Investigation 4

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False confessions are an important issue because confessions are the most powerful evidence of guilt in a criminal trial (Brandl, 2019). Cases with a confession commonly lead to plea bargains with minimal testing of other evidence in the case. The most significant legal procedure relating to confessions, the Miranda warning, has little impact on the issue of false confessions (Brandl, 2019). So what can be done to address this issue of false confessions? The police must be mindful that false confessions do exist. A confession should not be seen as the ultimate objective of an interrogation. The police must realize that people are deceptive for many reasons, not just to conceal guilt of the crime in question. The police should video the entirety of all interrogations. Videotaped interrogations protect against unwarranted claims of coercion and improve the conduct of interrogators. The police should systematically evaluate the credibility of the confessions obtained. Behavioral Evidence and Crime Analysis In this unit, we explore and learn about crime scene profiling. Occasionally, offenders function in non- conventional ways, which results in detectives not finding any significant leads or suspects (Brandl, 2019). Behavioral analysis is one option for detectives to find suspects who are unknown. Crime scene profiling, psychological profiling, and geographic profiling, sometimes known as behavioral analysis, can be used to help identify unknown persons. Each area can be used to develop a profile on the type of person the police is looking for based on the features and characteristics of the crime. Crime Scene Profiling Crime scene profiling is a technique for identifying behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon an analysis of the crime that he or she committed (Brandl, 2019). Usually after detectives have collected crime evidence, they forward their evidence to a profiler who analyzes the evidence and provides the detectives with the characteristics of the offender. Behavioral characteristics may include the method of operation, choice of location, souvenirs, and trophies. Crime scene profiling differs from offender profiling, which is based on the probabilities that a certain type of person probably committed a certain type of crime (Brandl, 2019). Psychological Profiling In the 1970s, psychological profiling gained popularity with the creation of the Behavioral Science Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Brandl, 2019). Psychological profiling is the process of identifying mental, emotional, and personality characteristics of offenders who have not been apprehended (Brandl, 2019). So, how do you create a psychological profile? The profiler first classifies the crime and examines the characteristics of the victim. Next, the profiler tries to understand the individual’s motivation for committing the crime. Then, the profiler identifies the characteristics of the offenders who have been convicted for the same type of crime. Finally, the profiler makes an educated guess of the type of offender involved in the crime. Geographical Profiling Geographical profiling is the process of examining a series of crimes to estimate the location of the offender’s residence (Brandl, 2019). This type of profiling allows detectives to focus their investigation efforts on a specific and small geographical area, which is known as the offender’s cognitive map. For example, investigators can become familiar with an unknown suspect’s routes to and from crime scenes. Geographical profiling also helps detectives to create estimates of where the offender spent a great deal of his or her time (Brandl, 2019). Another process is distance decay, which is the concept that as the distance away from a suspect’s home increases, the likelihood of a suspect committing a crime decreases (Brandl, 2019).

BCJ 3701, Criminal Investigation 5

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Click the link below to view a video that discusses how police in Great Britain used geographical profiling to find the Mardi Gras bomber. The transcript for this video can be found by clicking the “Transcript” tab to the right of the video in the Films on Demand database. Open University (Producer). (2011). Geographic profiling (Segment 9) [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://fod.infobase.com/PortalPla ylists.aspx?wID=273866&xtid=47385&loid=129352

Reference Brandl, S. G. (2019). Criminal investigation (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.