Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Let 'em talk!
T2 - a field study of police questioning practices of suspects and accused persons
AU - Snook, Brent
AU - Luther, Kirk
AU - Quinlan, Heather
AU - Milne, Rebecca
PY - 2012/10/1
Y1 - 2012/10/1
N2 - The real-life questioning practices of Canadian police officers were examined. Specifically, 80 transcripts of police interviews with suspects and accused persons were coded for the type of questions asked, the length of interviewee response to each question, the proportion of words spoken by interviewer(s) and interviewee, and whether or not a free narrative was requested. Results showed that, on average, less than 1% of the questions asked in an interview were open-ended, and that closed yes–no and probing questions composed approximately 40% and 30% of the questions asked, respectively. The long- est interviewee responses were obtained from open-ended questions, followed by multiple and probing question types. A free narrative was requested in approximately 14% of the interviews. The 80–20 talking rule was violated in every interview. The implications of these findings for reforming investigative interviewing of suspects and accused persons are discussed.
AB - The real-life questioning practices of Canadian police officers were examined. Specifically, 80 transcripts of police interviews with suspects and accused persons were coded for the type of questions asked, the length of interviewee response to each question, the proportion of words spoken by interviewer(s) and interviewee, and whether or not a free narrative was requested. Results showed that, on average, less than 1% of the questions asked in an interview were open-ended, and that closed yes–no and probing questions composed approximately 40% and 30% of the questions asked, respectively. The long- est interviewee responses were obtained from open-ended questions, followed by multiple and probing question types. A free narrative was requested in approximately 14% of the interviews. The 80–20 talking rule was violated in every interview. The implications of these findings for reforming investigative interviewing of suspects and accused persons are discussed.
KW - investigative interviewing
KW - interrogations
KW - police
KW - best practices
KW - training
KW - question types
U2 - 10.1177/0093854812449216
DO - 10.1177/0093854812449216
M3 - Journal article
VL - 39
SP - 1328
EP - 1339
JO - Criminal Justice and Behavior
JF - Criminal Justice and Behavior
SN - 0093-8548
IS - 10
ER -