Current Update

“American Nightmare” survivors Denise Huskins, Aaron Quinn use their trauma to help retrain law enforcement

Feb 13, 2025

In a recent article published February 10, 2025 entitled, “American Nightmare” survivors Denise Huskins, Aaron Quinn use their trauma to help retrain law enforcement by Julie Watts from CBS News California Investigates...

Previous Updates

Legal Updates Spring 2012

Apr 18, 2012

In our Legal Updates Spring 2012 column we feature cases that address the following issues:Defendant does not have to actually speak to invoke the right to remain silentStatement to suspect that he...

NY's top court rejects appeal of confession (Rejects Dr.Ofshe testimony of false confessions)

Apr 02, 2012

By MICHAEL VIRTANEN
Associated press

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York's top court on Thursday upheld the child rape conviction of a Queens woman who said her confession was coerced by...

Confession at gunpoint: The chain of events affecting admissibility.

Apr 01, 2012

By Gino Arcaro M.Ed., B.Sc.

I. Reality

The world of frontline policing will not always guarantee peaceful conditions to question a suspect. During life-and-death emergencies, the police will need to...

Misrepresentations made about the Reid Technique - the correct information

Mar 11, 2012

Over the years a number of misrepresentations and statements containing misinformation have been made about The Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation by "false confession experts," academicians and the media. We have...

New Canadian column for Reid Institute Members: The balance of power: close the "Sophistication Gap."

Mar 01, 2012

by Gino Arcaro M.Ed., B.Sc.

R. v. Tshitenge Masuku (2011)

Experience versus inexperience. The balance of power with respect to an interrogator and a suspect has become one of...

NY Times article references John E. Reid and Associates as teaching interview and interrogation techniques consist with court decisions

Feb 27, 2012

In their February 23, 2012 article, "Why Do Innocent People Confess?" in the discussion of false confessions the author points out that John E. Reid and Associates teaches interview and interrogation techniques...

Supreme Court says prison inmates don't have to be read rights in different investigations

Feb 22, 2012

By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, February 21, 10:15 AM

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court said Tuesday investigators don't have to read Miranda rights to inmates during jailhouse interrogations about crimes unrelated...

Detection of Deception Research - Why Academic Studies Yield Such Poor Results

Feb 08, 2012

Most defense experts who testify on the issue of false confessions state that law enforcement investigators interrogate people whom they believe are lying to them based on the behavior that they displayed...

90% of responding agencies who record their interrogations find the recordings to be helpful

Jan 27, 2012

In January 2012 we included a survey question with our emails announcing the location of a Reid seminar - here are the results

Does your organization video or audio...

IACP model policy for recording interrogations

Jan 16, 2012

In an article by Beth Warren entitled, "States move to require recordings of homicide confessions" she reports that eighteen states require police to record interrogations, at least in homicide cases, and she...

Thank you for the most valuable tool in my cop toolbox

Jan 13, 2012

We recently received the following from a past participant:

"I recently retired from my department. Early in my career as a detective, and before the internet, I heard of your program...

Legal Updates Winter 2012

Jan 07, 2012

In our Legal Updates Winter 2012 column we feature cases that address the following issues:"Testimony of expert regarding interrogation techniques was irrelevant."Promise to keep the suspect's name out of the media will...

How A Teen's Coerced Confession Set Her Free

Jan 05, 2012

That is the title of a story NPR produced yesterday which focuses on the interrogation of a 16 year old mother on whether or not she killed her 13 month old son...

New 5th edition of Criminal Interrogation and Confessions now available

Jan 01, 2012

Criminal Interrogations and Confessions, Fifth Edition presents the Reid Technique of interviewing and interrogation and is the standard used in the field. This updated Fifth Edition presents interviewing and interrogation techniques...

The danger of feeding information to a suspect during an interrogation - Juan Rivera conviction overturned

Dec 12, 2011

One of the key guidelines that we teach in our courses and books is that the investigator should conceal details about the crime so that when a suspect confesses and provides those...

New York Times article of false confessions

Nov 30, 2011

On November 27, 2011 the New York Times published an extensive article on several false confession cases. The focus of the article is on several cases from Illinois involving subsequent DNA testing...

Canadian article critical of the Reid Technique - our response

Nov 30, 2011

On November 25, 2011 an article was written by Joseph Brean in the National Post on line newspaper in Canada, critical of the Reid Technique. Click here for the complete article -...

Legal Update Fall 2011

Oct 26, 2011

The fall 2011 legal updates include cases which address the following issues:Court rejects the proffered testimony of Professor Alan Hirsch; no basis to say the Reid Technique enhances the risk of unreliable...

Case clarifies United States Supreme Court decision in Garrity v. New Jersey

Oct 20, 2011

In the July, 2011 case of US v. Callahan, the US District Court. N.D. Georgia, provided a very detailed explanation of the US Supreme Court's decision in Garrity re the use of...

Does an interrogation that exceeds 6 hours mean that the resulting confession was coerced?

Oct 20, 2011

Dr. Richard Leo has espoused the position that interrogations that exceed 6 hours result in coerced confessions. The basis for this statement can be found in an article he co-authored with Steven...