In the previous article, I wrote about the questioning of witnesses.
From now on, we will be using the document "Heisei24Years12In this article, I would like to introduce the interrogation of suspects in the "Interrogation (Basics)" session conducted by the Criminal Affairs Bureau of the National Police Agency in February.
On page 8 and onwards of the above document, there is a section on false confessions during suspect interrogations.
"Generally, people tend to think that they will not make false statements about matters that are disadvantageous to them, but it is entirely possible that false statements (a typical example being a false confession) may be made even in such matters." The reason for this is as follows:
"(1) Spontaneous false confession
"Some people voluntarily make false confessions for reasons such as "to prevent more serious crimes from coming to light," "to protect loved ones," and "to gain notoriety." Others acquiesce to the investigator and make false confessions because of a strong desire to "be in the good graces of the other party (the investigator)."
In television dramas, criminals are often portrayed confessing, "I did it," in order to protect their wives, husbands, or children.
Making a false confession for this purpose constitutes "concealing a criminal."
The police also conduct various investigations into the suspect's close relatives to avoid mistaken arrests, so this is likely not a common case in reality.
During the interrogation stage, we investigate the suspect's actions before and after the crime and continue the investigation to see if there are any inconsistencies with his or her testimony.
I think this falls under the category of "to protect those who are important to you," but it is possible that a yakuza member may turn in a scapegoat to cover up the crimes of a higher-ranking member.
Unlike members of the general public, gang members do not mind having a criminal record and may even be recognized for their achievements in the anti-social world, so interrogations must be conducted with care.
In corporate crimes, for example, it is not uncommon for suspects who have committed multiple crimes to voluntarily confess to the crimes for which they have been arrested in order to "prevent more serious crimes from coming to light."
To do this, investigators will analyze seized items and conduct thorough investigations into corporations with which the suspect has ties to uncover any potential crimes.
"Some people acquiesce to the interrogator and make a false confession because of a strong desire to be well-liked by the other party (the interrogator)." However, in actual cases where people were found guilty, there was a case where the suspect made a false confession because he had feelings for the interrogator.
As a result, the interrogators were criticized for knowing the suspects' minds and using that knowledge to extract false testimony.
In any case, there should be no false accusations.
To do this, the chief investigator (the senior investigative officer in charge of the investigation into the case) must carefully judge whether the evidence being collected and the testimony are consistent and whether any contradictions have arisen, including the impressions (conviction) of a single interrogator, without relying on the impressions (conviction) of a single interrogator.
As I have written before, interrogations are not conducted by a single investigator, but by a team.
By writing in this way, I believe you will understand that "psychological elements" are highly necessary in police interrogations.
Related article:
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ①
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ②
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ③
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ④
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ⑤
[Faculty of Psychology]"Interrogation" ⑥
