Reporter Completely Gets It Wrong *** See Addendum below

In a recent article in the Toronto Star, April 20, 2025 entitled, Interrogating the Interrogators, the author, Jason Miller completely and dishonestly misrepresented the Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation. In the article, he describes the interrogation of Rric Lu who was found guilty in the murder of his mother as follows:

….the subject was interrogated for nearly 13 hours, while falling in and out of sleep, confined to a cold room, not given food until six hours after his arrest, and subjected to aggressive police questioning about his suspected involvement in the brutal stabbing of a businesswoman in a Mississauga parking lot….erroneously reporting that these are elements of the Reid Technique.

In fact, all of the interrogation elements that he attributed to the Reid Technique are exactly what we have taught Not To Do for decades.

We have published extensively in our books and on our website the following essential elements of the Reid Technique:

• Interrogations should only be conducted when the case investigative information indicates the subject’s probable involvement in the commission of the crime. The purpose of an interrogation is to learn the truth.

• The investigator should conduct all interrogations following the guidelines established by the courts - advisement of rights; the presence of a parent or guardian for a minor; etc.

• The investigator should not make any promises of leniency, threats of harm or inevitable consequences, or physically abuse the subject.

• The investigator should not conduct interrogations for an excessively lengthy period of time - if the subject remains adamant in his denials at the 3 or 4 hour mark the investigator should re-evaluate the situation.

• The investigator should not deny the subject any of their rights.

• The investigator should not deny the subject the opportunity to satisfy their physical needs.

• In a non-custodial interrogation, the investigator should not deprive the subject of the opportunity to leave the room.

• The investigator should exercise special precautions when questioning juveniles or individuals with mental or psychological impairments. The investigator should not misrepresent the case evidence to these subjects.

• When a suspect claims to have little or no memory of the period when the crime was committed, the investigator should not misrepresent the case evidence to the subject.

• The investigator should never manufacture evidence implicating the subject.

• Investigators should adopt a general practice of avoiding misrepresentations concerning incontrovertible or dispositive evidence.

• The central focus of the persuasion process is to propose to the suspect reasons and motives that will serve to psychologically justify or excuse their behavior – not legally justify or excuse their behavior.

• When the subject acknowledges what they did, the investigator should ask open-ended questions to develop corroborating information – the location of the murder weapon or bloody clothes; how the subject gained entry into the building; where the subject sold the stolen jewelry, etc. Corroboration is an essential element to establish the authenticity of the subject’s statement.

• The interrogation should be recorded.

• The subject’s confession is not the end of the investigation…the investigator should continue to develop additional details about the subject’s behavior before and after the commission of the crime and to further verify the details of his statement of involvement.

All investigators should adhere to the following principles:

• Always treat the subject with dignity and respect

• Always conduct interviews and interrogations according to the guidelines established by the courts

• Do not make any promises of leniency

• Do not engage in any physical abuse of the suspect

• Do not make any threats of harm or inevitable consequences

• Do not conduct interrogations for an excessively lengthy period

• Do not deny the subject any of their rights

• Do not deny the subject the opportunity to satisfy their physical needs

• Exercise special caution when questioning socially immature juveniles or individuals with mental or psychological impairments

For additional information, see our Investigator Tips on www.reid.com under Resources

Joseph P. Buckley

President

John E. Reid and Associates

*** ADENDUM.

On Thursday, May 1,2025 I wrote the following to another publication that referenced the case described in the Miller article detailed above.

Dear Mr. Carter,
On April 30, 2025, Law360 Canada published online an article by John L.Hill, entitled, Murder Appeal focuses on Reid police interrogation technique, which is essentially the same article published on April 20, 2005 in the Toronto Star by Jason Miller.
We published a response to the Miller article on our website, pointing out all of his errors - Reporter Completely Gets It Wrong, many of which are repeated in the Hill article.
I would appreciate it if you could forward our rebuttal piece to Mr. Hill.

This is there response:

Thank you for providing me with Mr. Buckley's response. I am sure that if police conducted themselves as set out by Mr. Buckley we would not have the possibility of a wrongful conviction based on the faulty application of those guidelines.Unfortunately police supposedly using the Reid Technique yet circumventing many of its rules continue to insist that the technique was properly applied. It is as though the technique is being misdescribed if not slandered when police proclaim the procedures were properly applied.I recall a murder trial for a man I defended when a confession was extracted while the accused was high on cocaine and fell from a chair during the interview. Police obtained a ruling the confession was legitimate.When I wrote my piece I was using the words of the court and intended no malice to Mr. Buckley's company.
John L Hill