Interactional Elements of False Confessions and Police Interrogations

• In Event: 348 - Regular Session. The Management of Interactional Challenges in the Workplace

Abstract

Interrogation of suspects is a central element in detective work, providing the opportunity to not only gain information regarding criminal activity but also yield confessions. It is often assumed that no innocent person would confess to a crime s/he did not comment. However, this is not necessarily the case. Relatively little sociological research has been done on the interactional elements of police interrogations and confessions. The primary goal of the project is to explore how conversation analysis can be used to examine police interrogations, especially in the area of ‘false’ confessions (or at the least ‘contested confessions’ where a suspect recants a confession).

Author

• Gary C. David, Bentley University