How do you respond to false confession experts presented by the defense? (updated Nov '23)

Oct 20, 2023

Over the years we have received a number of emails that have stated essentially the following:

I am an investigator with the (agency name). A few years ago a coworker and myself...

Clarifying Misrepresentations About Interrogation Techniques (updated May 2023)

May 19, 2023

Over the years social psychologists, defenses attorneys, and some academicians have
offered a number of criticisms of current law enforcement interrogation practices, and, in
particular, the Reid Technique. Some of...

Over 30 Free Reid Video Presentations

Jan 24, 2022

Below you will find over 30 helpful video tips on our YouTube page now organized in 6 Playlists:

1. Who are We and What is The Reid Technique

False Confessions: The Issues to be Considered

Jun 01, 2021

False Confessions – The Issues to be Considered

In this document we discuss the primary causes of and contributing factors to false confessions, and the Best Practices to follow to...

25 Reid Video Tips

Jan 11, 2021

September October 2020 Investigator Tip

The September/October 2020 Investigator Tip provides you with links to 25 brief video presentations from our YouTube channel - The Reid Technique Tips, that...

What Questions Should be Asked to Determine the Voluntariness and Validity of a Subject’s Confession?

Aug 01, 2019

While there are numerous issues to consider in the process of evaluating the voluntariness and validity of a subject’s confession, the following questions may be helpful in making such an assessment.

...

The Feasibility of an Analytic Assessment to Identify False Confessions

Nov 01, 2012

The medical, psychiatric and therapy communities have a long history of using diagnostic "checklists" to evaluate the presence or absence of physiological or mental disease or degree of impairment. These analytic assessments...

What Exactly is the Reid Technique of Interrogation?

Jul 01, 2011

Part One

Despite the availability of specific information in books, training manuals and on our web site about the Reid Technique of interrogation, it is routinely mis-characterized. The following description...

Research Review: The lie, the Bluff and False Confessions

Jan 01, 2011

One of the most controversial aspects of criminal interrogation involves the use of trickery and deceit. While Federal and State Supreme Courts routinely uphold confessions that were obtained from interrogations during which...

Responding to Defense Experts' Characterization of Interrogation

May 01, 2010

In 1998 David Lykken wrote a book titled, "A Tremor in the Blood: The Uses and Abuses of the Polygraph Technique". In it, he advocated the use of his own "Guilty Knowledge...

Civil Liabilities Associated With False Confessions

Nov 01, 2009

Civil Liabilities Associated With False Confessions

Training in the field of interrogation teaches investigators not only how to conduct effective interrogations, but also the legal aspects of obtaining admissible confessions...

Motives For False Confessions

Jul 01, 2009

To date, the innocence project has freed in excess of 200 individuals from prison based on DNA evidence.* These innocent defendants were found guilty of serious felonies such as murder and...

Electronic Recording of Interviews and Interrogations

Jun 01, 2005

It has long been recognized that a confession is the strongest piece of evidence a prosecutor can produce against a defendant in a court of law. Consequently, any competent defense attorney will...

The Importance of Accurate Corroboration within a Confession

Aug 01, 2004

The Importance of Accurate Corroboration within a Confession

Of all possible evidence presented against a defendant at trial, a confession is afforded the most weight. Because of this, we have...

False Confession Cases - The Issues

Apr 01, 2004

In the past several years a number of false confession cases have received extensive publicity. In several of these cases the convicted individual has been exonerated by DNA testing and the actual...