Police Detectives' Aims regarding Their Interviews with Suspects: Any Change at the Turn of the Millennium?

How can valid information be obtained in police interviews with suspects? How can false confessions be avoided? Answers to these questions will help convict the guilty and avoid miscarriages of justice. Unfortunately, very little research on real-life interviews with suspects has been carried out due to the sensitive nature of the topic, and all the difficulties of access such research entials. The present study sought to gather police detectives' views on the ways they conducted interviews with uncooperative suspects. It was found that specialised training in the investigative interviewing of suspects, as well as good preparation of the interview beforehand and the social skills of the interviewers, are judged by the detectives to be of utmost importance when dealing with uncooperative suspects. In addition, the actual style of the interview was reported to be influenced by various factors, such as the available evidence in a given case, the actual nature of the crime, and the interviewer's approach towards the suspect (and vice versa).