NBC story contains erroneous statements about the Reid Technique

In a recent episode of Dateline, the story entitled “The Ruse,” focused on the interrogation and false confession of a man identified as Thomas Perez, Jr., who had reported to police that his father had disappeared. (aired Dec, 5, 2025)

Perez was eventually interrogated by the police and after 17 hours over a two day period confessed to accidentally killing his father. Shortly thereafter, Perez’s father was found alive and unharmed.

In the episode, it was reported that the investigators “employed the Reid Technique, a common method involving confrontation and minimization of rights.” The story also implied that the detectives created false blood evidence.

The Reid Technique never teaches to minimize a subject’s rights. In fact, we point out and clearly state in our publications and training programs that false confessions are usually caused by investigators engaging in coercive behaviors such as:

• Physical abuse of the subject

• Threats of physical harm

• Threats of inevitable consequences (threats that if the subject did not confess, he would be sent to the penitentiary for more serious crime; threats that his family members would be arrested)

• Promises of leniency (that if he confessed, he would be released from custody; that he would not be prosecuted; that he will be granted a pardon; that he will receive a lighter sentence than the law prescribed)

• Denial of rights

• Denial of physical needs

• Excessively long interrogations (we teach that if a subject remains adamant in his denial after 3 or 4 hours the situation should be re-evaluated

• 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

In our publications and training programs we teach that 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 Core Principles and Best Practices:

• 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 cautions 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 a reasonable belief that the suspect committed the issue 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

• The confession is not the end of the investigation.

Following the confession, the investigator should investigate the confession details in an effort to establish the authenticity of the subject's statement, as well as attempt to establish the suspect's activities before and after the commission of the crime.

We have never advocated that an investigator should fabricate evidence against a subject. We point out to our audience several court decisions in which a confession was found to be inadmissible because investigators created false evidence. Our policy on the use of deception during an interrogation can be found on our website here.