Consultant for writers on crime, police, & court procedures.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

INTERVIEW OR INTERROGATION?

       Writers often use the terms “interview” and “interrogation” interchangeably.  The differences are significant, however.
     The interview is strictly to obtain information. It’s the standard Q-and-A session between an officer and a witness or a victim.  It might be conducted in a home, on the street, in a detective’s office, or in an interview room. Sometimes it is recorded but often the officer simply takes notes.
     The interrogation is conducted to elicit a confession from a suspect.  Usually it occurs in an interrogation room at the police station or a similar room at the jail.  It is an “adversarial” conversation with the goal of obtaining a confession.  Psychological pressure and “strategic deception” are used by interrogators to move the suspect to confess.
     A small police station may not have an interrogation room.  A detective might question suspects in his or her office, although this is not the ideal arrangement. Too many distractions, too many items the suspect can pick up and use as a weapon.
     Interrogations should be recorded, preferably audio and video. A common tactic of defense attorneys is to attempt to suppress any confession.  A recording shows the suspect was not under duress when he confessed.
     Most officers don’t wear their weapons into an interrogation room. The firearm is secured in another location, perhaps in a gun locker designed for that purpose or locked in a file cabinet.
   

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