False Confessions: Psychological Aspects in the Work of a Police Interrogator in Israel

Shirley Yehosha–Stern; Efrat Shoham

Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2016

False Confessions: Psychological Aspects in the Work of a Police Interrogator in Israel

Shirley Yehosha Ndash Stern, Efrat Shoham

Abstract :

A criminal investigation should ultimately point to the person who committed the crime. The question this paper is raising is what motivates a police interrogator to extract a false confession from a suspect, using unacceptable means, when that suspect�s innocence can be proved. This paper discusses false confessions from the perspective of police interrogators while based on four Israeli case studies, where suspects made false confessions that led to wrongful convictions. There are several psychological theories that could shed some light on this matter. It focused on judgmental modularity among police interrogators, Processes of justification and self–perception, Dehumanization and psychological mechanisms during police interrogation, and group thinking and �Rhinoceritis" among police interrogators. The theoretical study is examining the numerous psychological components – both external and internal – that can affect the interrogator�s decision–making process. Those Components may motivate him to adhere to his position regarding the suspect�s guilt, even when it is highly possible from the information available that the person is not guilty of the alleged crime.