The Reid Technique®: Setting the Standard in Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation Training

Why Professionals Choose the Reid Technique®

• Proven Results: In a 2024 survey of more than 31,000 Reid Interview and Interrogation course graduates, 98.99% of respondents said they would recommend the training to colleagues, and 98% reported that their interviewing and interrogation skills improved to an Above Average or Excellent level after completing the program.
• Recognized in the Courts: A review of appellate and supreme court decisions from all 50 states and the District of Columbia referencing the Reid Technique found that no state court characterized the Reid Technique as coercive, illegal, prohibited, or a violation of due process.
• Judicial Support: In United States v. Jacques, 784 F. Supp. 2d 48 (2011), the court noted that the defense claim that the Reid Technique inherently increases the risk of an unreliable confession lacked objective evidentiary support. The court observed that although the defense expert asserted there was "a wealth of information about the risks of the Reid technique," he could point to none.

The Reid Commitment: Protect the Innocent - Identify the Guilty
The Reid Technique emphasizes ethical, legally sound investigative interviewing and interrogation practices designed to gather reliable information while respecting individual rights.

DO NOT ENGAGE IN ANY OF THESE BEHAVIORS

• Physical abuse of the subject
• Threats of physical harm
• Threats of inevitable consequences
• Promises of leniency
• Denial of rights
• Denial of physical needs
• Excessively long interrogations
• Disclosure of crime details
• Failure to properly take into account the subject’s mental limitations and/or psychological disabilities
• Failure to properly modify approaches with socially immature juveniles
• Failure to properly corroborate confession details

FOLLOW THE REID PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE

• Do not make any promises of leniency
• Do not threaten the subject with any physical harm or inevitable consequences
• Do not deny the subject any of their rights
• Do not deny the subject the opportunity to satisfy their physical needs
• Withhold information about the details of the crime from the subject so that if the subject confesses, the disclosure of that information can be used to confirm the authenticity of the statement
• Exercise special caution when questioning juveniles or individuals with mental or psychological impairments
• Always treat the subject with dignity and respect
• Conduct an interview before any interrogation. Absent a life-saving circumstance, the investigator should conduct a non-accusatory interview before engaging in any interrogation
• Conduct an interrogation only when there is reasonable certitude that the suspect committed the offense under investigation or is withholding relevant information
• Attempt to verify the suspect's alibi before conducting an interrogation
• When interrogating a non-custodial suspect, do not deprive the suspect from his freedom to leave the room
• Do not conduct excessively long interrogations.
• When a suspect claims to have little or no memory for the time period when the crime was committed, the investigator should not lie to the suspect concerning incriminating evidence
• Electronically record the interview and interrogation
• Given current judicial and legislative trends regarding the use of deception during an interrogation, investigators should adopt a general practice of avoiding misrepresentations concerning incontrovertible or dispositive evidence

For decades the Reid Technique Principles of Practice have set the standard for conducting proper investigative interviews and interrogations - Protecting the Innocent and Identifying the Guilty.