Deck 7: Police Interrogations and Confessions

Question 1

According to police handbooks,what is the main goal of interrogation?

A) to gain information that furthers the investigation
B) to gain information that aids the victim in coping
C) to identify accomplices
D) to close the case as quickly and efficiently as possible

Answer 1

to gain information that furthers the investigation

Question 2

Which problematic procedure was used by the police in the Paul Ingram case?

A) searching his house without a warrant
B) not issuing him his Miranda rights prior to interrogation
C) not allowing him to have his lawyer present during his interrogation
D) using interrogation techniques that effectively brainwashed him

Answer 2

using interrogation techniques that effectively brainwashed him

Question 3

When a suspect is provided unique,nonpublic facts about the crime at hand (often referred to as "guilty knowledge")during the course of police procedures,and the police insist that the information originated with the suspect,what is this called?

A) misleading specialized knowledge
B) tunnel vision
C) confirmation bias
D) progressive constriction of relevant evidence

Answer 3

misleading specialized knowledge

Question 4

In the 1974 Irish Republican Army bombing case,what was the main difference between those who falsely confessed and those who did not?

A) level of suggestibility
B) IQ
C) previous criminal history of bombing
D) membership in the IRA

Question 5

What do people assume about most confessions?

A) They are false.
B) They are obtained only with great difficulty.
C) They are true.
D) They are obtained easily through proper interviewing techniques

Question 6

What was the purpose of Kassin and Kiechel's (1996)study using computers and confederates?

A) to illustrate the use by police of false incriminating evidence
B) to demonstrate the effect of peer pressure in obtaining false confessions
C) to illustrate the use by the police of the "good cop/bad cop" routine
D) to demonstrate that everyday subjects will confess to an undesirable action that they did not commit

Question 7

What strategy does the "good-cop,bad-cop" procedure reflect?

A) maximization
B) knowledge bluffing
C) baiting questions
D) rapport building

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT one of the common interrogation procedures described in your text?

A) minimization
B) intimidation
C) rapport building
D) maximization

Question 9

The confession of Raymond McLean,who confessed to unlawfully killing a dog,may have been an example of what type of confession?

A) compliant
B) coerced-compliant
C) coerced-internalized
D) voluntary

Question 10

What interrogation tactic was effective in obtaining a confession from Susan Smith,who drowned her two children?

A) plea-bargaining
B) presentation of false information
C) baiting questions
D) failure to inform her of her Miranda rights

Question 11

Which of the following is NOT a type of false confession?

A) plea-bargaining
B) voluntary
C) coerced-compliant
D) coerced-internalized

Question 12

In the 2000 Oickle case,when did the Supreme Court conclude that a confession should be excluded?

A) only if the police used any form of deception
B) only if the suspect was interrogated for over eight continuous hours
C) only if the suspect was unfit to stand trial
D) only if deception used by the police was shocking to the community

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a motivation for coerced-compliant confessions?

A) to escape further interrogation
B) to gain a promised benefit
C) plea-bargaining for previous crimes
D) to avoid punishment

Question 14

Which of the following interrogation techniques is illegal in Canada?

A) misrepresentation of the facts of the case
B) misleading a suspect that accomplices have confessed
C) denying suspects food and water for a prolonged period of time
D) offering "inducements" to obtain a confession

Question 15

Which of the following statements is NOT an example of minimization?

A) "What you did is not at all that unusual."
B) "You must have acted on the spur of the moment."
C) "You must not feel very guilty."
D) "I've seen thousands of cases like yours."

Question 16

What does the term "third-degree tactics" refer to?

A) interrogation methods used at the third and final time of questioning
B) interrogation methods reserved for cases of third-degree murder
C) interrogation tactics that include brutality and torture
D) interrogation tactics used primarily in Third World countries

Question 17

What percentage of confessions are recanted?

A) 10
B) 20
C) 30
D) 50

Question 18

Prior to questioning suspects,what should investigators do?

A) read the statements that have already been taken
B) visit the crime scene
C) check the alibis of the suspect
D) examine the previous criminal record of the suspect

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT an example of maximization?

A) "You're really a tricky thief."
B) "You accidentally stole more money than you planned to."
C) "So much money was stolen,the store may have to close."
D) "The victim was so badly injured that she might die."

Question 20

According to Inbau,Reid,and Buckley,what is the principal psychological factor contributing to a successful interrogation?

A) isolation
B) promises of leniency
C) not permitting the suspect to have food or water
D) failure to notify suspect of rights

Question 21

Evaluate the technique of misleading suspects,a method than can bring forth both true and false confessions.Should this technique be legal?

Question 22

What are the two main factors that must be considered in Canada when deciding whether to admit a confession?

Question 23

In the Canadian legal system,a voluntary statement is one that is made "without fear of prejudice or hope of advantage."

Question 24

What is a general guideline to decide if an interrogation method is acceptable? Using this guideline,should current police practices be modified?

Question 25

Identify which type of false confession occurred in the Paul Ingram case.Were any of the techniques used to elicit his confession illegal?

Question 26

Several court cases were presented in your text on confessions and interrogations.Select three and comment on the court's decision and why it was or was not the correct one in your opinion.

Question 27

Speculate why a gender difference was found in the survey in your text about willingness to confess to a crime that one did not commit.

Question 28

Investigators first learn as much as possible about the interviewee and then prepare the opening question and subsequent questions based on an analysis of existing evidence.What is this the first step of?

A) PEACE model
B) Reid technique
C) guilty knowledge test
D) Step-Wise Interview

Question 29

Police believe the presence of warnings that inform suspects of their rights decreases conviction rates.

Question 30

Studies support the claim of police officers that they can tell when a suspect is lying.

Question 31

Police manuals conflict with each other about the primary goal of interrogations.

Question 32

How does the fundamental attribution error affect jurors' reactions to confessions?

Question 33

What has been the Supreme Court's position on the use of deception by police during interrogations?

Question 34

What is the most commonly observed interrogation tactic from the Reid technique?

A) play one offender against the other
B) minimize the moral seriousness of the offence
C) appeal to the suspect's pride with flattery
D) sympathize with suspect by condemning others

Question 35

How has your opinion of interrogation techniques,confessions,and court decisions changed as a result of reading your text?

Question 36

Kassin,Meisner,and Norwick (2005)videotaped prisoners providing true or false accounts of their crimes and gave these to students and law enforcement officers.What did the results show?

A) Students were better able to differentiate true from false accounts.
B) Officers were better able to differentiate true from false accounts.
C) Neither group was able to differentiate above the level of chance.
D) Both groups were able to differentiate above the level of chance.

Question 37

Describe the role a forensic psychologist can play for each of the following clienteles: police departments,courts,and society.

Question 38

Describe the differences between the three types of false confessions and give an example of each.

Question 39

What types of assumptions have the courts made in determining what interrogation techniques are acceptable?

Question 40

The Canadian courts permit confessions obtained from individuals who were not involved in the arrest,detention,examination,or prosecution of the individual.

Question 41

Why are the results of compliance studies such as those by Milgram and by Asch relevant to interrogations and confessions?

Question 42

The Reid technique encourages the use of both minimization and maximization tactics in police interrogations.Differentiate between these two tactics and whether you believe they could lead to false confessions.

Question 43

Outline the strategy used by Richard Ofshe to demonstrate that Paul Ingram's memory was highly suggestible.

Question 44

Since false confessions and convictions occur,is it necessary to rethink the punishment we assign?

Question 45

Explain the process of tunnel vision in police investigations that can lead to false confessions.

Question 46

Police rely on the ability to detect deception in interrogations.Discuss the assumption that they are proficient at this.

Question 47

Describe the contents of police manuals on interrogation.

Question 48

What are the two basic reasons that police question suspects?

Question 49

What was the underlying conclusion in the findings of Kassin and Kiechel's 1996 study,which had students engage in a computer task?

Question 50

What was the Supreme Court of Canada decision in the R.v Oickle (2000)case.