Investigative interviewing: Recent developments and some fundamental issues

Abstract

This paper reviews some fundamental issues about the nature, methods and consequences of investigative interviewing. Recent legal developments in England have led to improved protection for suspects who are detained for interviewing at police stations as well as improved interviewing techniques can have negative consequences, including false confession, the undermining of public confidence in the criminal justice system, resentment and hostility among defendants, post-traumatic stress disorder, and confessions being ruled inadmissible in court. The author argues that there is a fine balance facilitating the duties of the police to prevent and investigate crimes and answering the needs and protecting the rights of suspects and witnesses.