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...

The Fundamental Foundation of THE REID TECHNIQUE OF INTERROGATION®: Empathy and Understanding

Sep 01, 2017

The Reid Technique consists of a three-phase process beginning with Fact Analysis, followed by the Behavior Analysis Interview (which is a non-accusatory interview designed to develop investigative and behavioral information), followed by...

Cognitive Interviewing

Jul 01, 2017

Cognitive Interviewing

Cognitive interviewing is a memory retrieval procedure designed to enhance recall when interviewing a victim or witness. Unlike hypnosis, which involves placing the subject in an altered state of consciousness...

Using Open-ended Questions During the Investigative Interview (Part 2)

May 01, 2017

(See the March April 2017 Investigator Tip for Part 1)

Evaluating the Response to an Open Question

When relating an incident such as being the victim of a robbery or...

Using Open-ended Questions During the Investigative Interview (Part 1)

Mar 01, 2017

When evaluating an account, such as what happened to a victim, a suspect’s alibi, or what a witness saw or heard, the investigator should elicit this information by asking an initial open-ended...

Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Obtaining a Reliable Confession

Jan 01, 2017

Physical coercion, torture, duress, denial of rights, threats, and promises of leniency are the poison pills of legally admissible, reliable, and voluntary confessions. Obviously we should not engage in such behaviors or...

Positive Persuasion - Motivating the Subject to Tell the Truth

Nov 01, 2016

Positive persuasion consists of a variety of persuasive statements offered by the investigator to motivate, influence, and persuade the subject to want to tell the truth. The information developed in the...

When Co-Offenders are Being Interrogated Consider "Playing One Against the Other"

Sep 01, 2016

When two or more persons have collaborated in the commission of a criminal offense and are later apprehended for questioning, there is usually a nagging fear on the part of each participant...

Over 300 What's new page entries

Aug 01, 2016

p> Over the last 14 years we have posted over 300 entries on our "What's New" page at www.reid.com. For this July/August Investigator Tip we have listed many of them that you...

There is No Behavior Unique to Lying

May 01, 2016

People oftentimes associate specific behaviors with deception, such as lack of eye contact. But there are many reasons a person may not have eye contact with the individual whom they are speaking...

Interrogation Themes: Five Strategies for Selecting Interrogation Themes

Mar 01, 2016

Identifying the most effective arguments to present to a suspect during an interrogation will help you elicit the truth

A frequent question I'm asked by cops during my interviewing and interrogation...

Making a Murderer: THE REID TECHNIQUE® and Juvenile Interrogations

Jan 01, 2016

In the Netflix program, Making a Murderer, which examines the conviction of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey for the sexual assault and murder of Teresa Halbach, there is a reference made by...

Legal Cases Sorted by Category

Sep 01, 2015

On a regular basis over the last 10 years we have published on our website and through our quarterly newsletter legal updates of current cases which address relevant interview and interrogation issues...

The Reid Technique: A Position Paper

May 01, 2015

The Reid Technique: A Position Paper

Content

Empathy Guides the Investigator to the Truth

Mar 01, 2015

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will...

Interrogation Tactics Involving a Written Report

Jan 01, 2015

The interrogation of a criminal suspect is designed to persuade a suspect, who is believed to be guilty of a crime, to tell the truth. To be effective, the investigator's persuasive arguments...

The Importance of Evaluating Consequences

Nov 01, 2014

During the course of an investigation, and especially at the interview stage, there are a number of questions the investigator would like to answer about the suspect and the crime he may...

Leaving The Room During an Interrogation

Sep 01, 2014

We see it all the time on television cop shows. The investigator is interrogating a suspect and the suspect offers a strong denial. The investigator gets out of his chair and says...

The Reid Behavior Analysis Interview

Jul 01, 2014

The Reid Behavior Analysis Interview

A recent article offered the following description of the Reid Behavior Analysis Interview, "The purpose of the interview is to provide a means by which investigators...

An Update on the Use of Deceptive Practices During Interrogation

May 01, 2014

An Update on the Use of Deceptive Practices During Interrogation
The landmark US Supreme Court decision addressing deceptive practices during an interrogation is Frazier v. Cupp (1969). In Frazier, the Court upheld...

Research Reveals Insight on Juvenile Interrogations and Confessions

Mar 01, 2014

It is well accepted that juvenile suspects are more susceptible to falsely confess than adult suspects. This has been documented by a number of high profile cases such as the attack of...