Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice: How Neutralization Theory Can Inform Reid Interrogations of Identity Thieves

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how theoretically driven research can be beneficial to law‐enforcement personnel in their day‐to‐day jobs. Such information can be used as an educational tool to assist students in understanding the value of theory and research and its applicability in the field. Specifically, we show how research guided by neutralization theory can be used by police to better elicit confessions from guilty suspects when using the Reid interrogation technique. Using data from 59 federally convicted identity thieves, we provide an illustration of how interrogators can use this information to develop functional themes during the interrogation.

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Grant No. 2005‐IJ‐CX‐0012 awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice.

Notes

1 In addition to the five original neutralizations presented by Sykes and Matza, criminologists have identified several other common neutralizations used by offenders, including the defense of necessity, the claim of normality, and the claim of entitlement (Maruna and Copes 2005).

2 To protect the participant’s identity, all identifying information has been removed.