In confession cases, one of the first elements examined by the courts is whether any coercive behaviors were used to secure the defendant's confession.

The Reid Principles of Practice state that Investigators Should Not Engage in Any of the Following COERCIVE BEHAVIORS

• Physical abuse of the subject
• Make threats of physical harming the subject
• Make threats of inevitable consequences
• Make promises of leniency
• Deny the subject any of their rights
• Denial the subject the chance to satisfy the physical needs
• Conduct excessively long interrogations
• Disclosure details about the crime
• Fail to properly take into account the subject’s mental limitations and/or psychological disabilities
• Fail to properly modify approaches with socially immature juveniles
• Fail to properly corroborate confession details

Instead…….we teach investigator to adhere to the following REID PRINCIPLES OF PRACTICE

• Do not make any promises of leniency
• 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 socially immature 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

When a court examines the procedures followed in a given confession case, absent some extra ordinary circumstance, if the investigator adhered to the above core principles practice as outlined, the confession is generally admissible.