Investigator Tips
The Reid Technique
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...
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...
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...
The Reid Technique: A Position Paper
May 01, 2015
The Reid Technique: A Position Paper
Content
Core PrinciplesBest PracticesResponses to Criticisms The Courts’ View of False Confession ExpertsThe Courts’ View of the Reid TechniqueThe Best Way to Guard Against...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...
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...
A Quick Guide to Best Practices for THE REID NINE STEPS OF INTERROGATION®
Jul 01, 2013
Within any established procedure (medical, therapeutic, manufacturing, education, engineering, etc.) there are optimum or ideal conditions under which the probability of success is maximized. These optimum procedures are called "best practices." Because...
Interview Before Interrogating
Sep 01, 2012
Throughout our seminars and textbooks The Reid Technique emphasizes the distinction between interviewing and interrogating, and the importance of conducting a non-accusatory interview before an accusatory interrogation. A recent legal decision reinforces...
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...
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...
Going Directly from an Interview Into an Interrogation
Jul 01, 2002
In the Reid Technique a clear distinction is made between interviewing and interrogation. The interview is non-accusatory, question and answer process that is designed to elicit information. An interrogation is accusatory in...