In an article published in Science, titled, "This psychologist explains why people confess to crimes they didn't commit," Professor Saul Kassin, a psychologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, discusses the issue of false confessions - these are the cases that he references re false confessions and the interrogation tactics that he describes for each case:

Huwe Burton "after hours of being threatened"

Amanda Knox "was coerced into confessing the murder of her roommate" [she was interrogated by police in Italy]

John Kogurt "after an 18 hour interrogation"

Barry Laughman "a man with a capacity of a ten year old after police falsely told him they found his fingerprints at the scene"

Central Park Five (jogger case) "after [42*] hours of interrogation"

* in the Netflix series about the Central Park Five one of the investigators describes the interrogation of the 5 juveniles as follows: "You squeezed statements out of them, after 42 hours of questioning and coerciveness without food, bathroom breaks, withholding parental supervision"

It is interesting to note that in each of these cases if the core principles of the Reid Technique had been followed, false confessions would not have occurred.

The best way to avoid false confessions is to conduct interrogations in accordance with the guidelines established by the courts, and to adhere to the following practices:

• Do not make any promises of leniency

• Do not threaten the subject with any physical harm or inevitable consequences

• Do not conduct interrogations for an excessively lengthy period of time

• 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 cautions when questioning juveniles or individuals with mental or psychological impairments

• Always treat the subject with dignity and respect

• The confession is not the end of the investigation - investigate the confession details in an effort to establish the authenticity of the subject's statement

We have published in our books and in our training manuals that the use of deception (as described in the Barry Laughman case referenced above) "should be avoided when interrogating a youthful suspect with low social maturity or a suspect with diminished mental capacity. These suspects may not have the fortitude or confidence to challenge such evidence and, depending on the nature of the crime, may become confused as to their own possible involvement if the police tell them evidence clearly indicates they committed the crime."

In fact, in the case People v. Elias (2015) the Appeals court pointed out several prescribed Reid procedures that were not followed by the investigator, resulting in a confession that was found to be involuntary " these procedures that were not followed included:

1. A non-accusatory interview was not conducted before initiating an interrogation

2. The investigator misrepresented the case evidence when questioning a 13 year old

3. There was no corroboration of the incriminating statement

4. There was contamination - disclosing details of the crime

The Reid core principles should be adopted by every investigator to ensure that proper procedures are being followed and to minimize the possibility of a false confession.

For additional information see Clarifying Misrepresentations About Law Enforcement Interrogation Techniques.