Oral Presentation: Swedish police interrogations with suspects of drug-related crimes

Title: Swedish police interrogations with suspects of drug-related crimes

Abstract

Background: What we know about police interrogation has overwhelmingly been based on serious crimes. Far less is known about police-suspect interactions when the crimes are less serious. In the current study, we have focused on low-stake crimes related to drug use and possession. A large proportion of suspects suffer from substance use disorder and are intoxicated during interrogations, making them potentially vulnerable to interrogative pressure.

Method: To address this, we examined the nature and quality of Swedish police interrogations (N =121) with drug-related crime suspects. This is the first archival interrogation study to focus on this suspect group. Written police records were scored by two independent scorers according to the Taxonomy of Interrogations Techniques (Kelly et al., 2013; 2016) and the Griffith Question Map.

Results: There was an overrepresentation of question types compared to interrogation techniques, and a strong emphasis on appropriate question types. However, more inappropriate questions were asked of intoxicated than sober suspects. Suspect cooperation was significantly and negatively correlated with evidence presentation, as well as confrontational and emotionally manipulative techniques.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that different crime types are associated with different interrogation styles. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.