Hayley Cleary
Associate Professor of Criminal Justice and Public Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University
Key Findings
- In a study of interrogations from suspects’ point of view, experiences varied considerably, as did perceptions of custody, beliefs about incriminating evidence, and intent before interrogation to confess to or deny committing a crime.
- Sociodemographic characteristics and criminological factors were unrelated to respondents’ self-reported decision-making around confessing, but contextual factors predicted confession: Signing away Miranda rights and planning to confess predicted suspects’ self-reported confessions; being physically restrained, thinking police lacked evidence of guilt, and planning to deny the allegations predicted self-reported denials.
- Suspects who had not decided whether or not to confess before being interrogated were about as likely to eventually confess as they were to deny committing the crime.
- Criminal suspects are active decision makers in interrogations, and their perceptions of the experience relate to their decisions about confessing.
- Suspects who thought the police had strong evidence against them were more likely to confess than to deny, so police should not present false evidence.
- Interrogators should understand that not all suspects intend to deny allegations and that accusatorial approaches could be unnecessary or even harmful to their investigation.
Description
In the article, “Contextual factors predict self-reported confession decision-making: A field study of suspects’ actual police interrogation experiences,” Hayley M.D. Cleary examined the self-reported interrogation experiences and decision making around confessions of incarcerated people. Cleary and her co-author did so by investigating which sociodemographic, criminological, and contextual factors were associated with incarcerated individuals’ decisions to deny the allegations, partially admit wrongdoing, or fully confess to the crime. They examined about 250 individuals (86% male, 49% Black, and median age of about 35 years) who were incarcerated in local jails in the United States who completed a questionnaire about their most recent interrogation. Charges included property crimes, crimes against persons, weapon or drug offenses, probation violations or administrative offenses, crimes involving fraud or indecency, and driving or traffic offenses. Respondents described their interrogation experiences (e.g., location, duration, custody), perceptions of police evidence against them, and thoughts about confession before the interrogation. Suspects’ interrogation experiences varied considerably, as did their perceptions of custody, beliefs about incriminating evidence, and pre-interrogation intent to confess to or deny having committed the crime with which they were charged. Sociodemographic characteristics and criminological factors were unrelated to respondents’ self-reported decision-making around confessing, but several contextual factors predicted whether or not they confessed. Signing away one’s Miranda rights and already planning to confess predicted suspects’ self-reported confessions, whereas being physically restrained, believing that police had no evidence of one’s guilt, and intending in advance to deny the allegations predicted suspects’ self-reported denials. Suspects who were undecided about confessing before being interrogated were about as likely to eventually confess as they were to deny. The study concluded that most suspects followed through with their initial intention to confess or deny, and suspects’ perceptions about evidence predicted their self-reported confessions. The study’s findings complement prior work on interrogation techniques and can inform training and practice in police interrogations.