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New 5th Edition of Criminal Interrogation and Confessions  Criminal Interrogations and Confessions, Fifth Edition (2011) 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, based on actual criminal cases, which have been used successfully by thousands of criminal investigators. This practical text is built around simple psychological principles and examines interrogation as a nine-step process that is easily understood by the reader.

To read more about the changes and additions in the 5th Edition click here.

The 5th Edition is priced at $125.95 by the publisher Jones and Bartlett. However, everyone who receives this newsletter can purchase the book at the reduced price of $99.00 - just call Kim Everhart at our office at 800-255-5747 ext 11 or email her at keverhart@reid.com.  Offer expires March 31, 2012.

We recently posted on our website a link to a lecture/presentation on the issue of false confessions by expert witness Dr. Richard Leo. Dr. Leo described for defense attorneys what he presents as the Reid Technique (Method). This is a very informative piece because it will give the prosecutor an idea of Dr. Leo's testimony on false confession cases and the errors that he makes in describing the Reid Technique. In fact, it should be noted that Dr. Leo includes in his description of the technique statements purportedly made to suspects by investigators that are clearly inappropriate and in violation of multiple court decisions.

We address many of these misrepresentations in one of our Investigator Tips - What Exactly is The Reid Technique of Interrogation, which you can access by clicking here.

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

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 Drizen in March 2004, entitled "The Problem of False Confessions in the Post-DNA World" (North Carolina Law Review) in which they examined 125 cases that they found in the prior 33 years that they classify as false confession cases. When the length of 44 of these interrogations were reviewed (apparently no time for the length of the interrogation was reported for the remaining 81 cases) they found the following results:

Length                             # People                       %

Less than 6 hours                  7                           16%

6 to 12 hours                        15                           34%

12 to 24 hours                      17                           39%

24 to 48 hours                       3                              7%

48 to 72 hours                       1                              2%

72 to 96 hours                       1                              2%

The article goes on to say that "The average length of interrogation was 16.3 hours, and the median length of interrogation was twelve hours." It is clear that if the median length of these 44 interrogations was 12 hours, the statement that interrogations that exceed 6 hours necessarily result in coerced confessions is not supported by the data.

As in every case, the courts consider the "totality of circumstances" and do not view the length of interrogation as a definitive factor regarding the admissibility of a confession.

Click here for the complete article.

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 confessions 
• The value of video recording an interrogation - discredits defendant's allegations
• Does a statement to the defendant that his children would be removed from the house unless he cooperated with the investigation render the confession inadmissible?
• Court rejects the testimony of an expert in police procedure regarding the use of the Reid interview technique
• The "underwear bomber" did not have to be advised of his Miranda rights due to the public safety exception
• Is a student in custody when he is asked by school officials to accompany the police for questioning?
• References to religion during an interrogation do not result in a coerced confession
• A social worker's interview of juvenile at youth home, during which he confessed to crimes, was not custodial interrogation

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