Interviewing and interrogation

Police interrogation

This research concerns various psychological aspects of police interrogation. The aim is to find ways to interrogate a suspect in order to obtain as much and as reliable information as possible. For example, the research involves mapping the strategies used by guilty and innocent suspects in their interaction with an interrogator, so that an interrogator can use counter-strategies to reach the best outcome of the interrogation.

One of the main contributions of CLIP is the development of a specific interrogation technique for interviewing suspects called the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique. The technique is based on our scientific findings on how guilty and innocent suspects behave in an interrogation situation, and how the available evidence should be used. We have shown that interrogators using the SUE technique can better detect who is lying, without increasing the risk of misidentifying an innocent as a suspect. The technique has been used successfully with both adults and older children, as well as with suspects in groups and those interviewed individually. The SUE technique has attracted considerable national and international attention, both from the research community and practitioners. We continue to develop, refine and test the technique.

We are also currently conducting research on the so-called Shift-of-Strategy (SoS) method, an interrogation technique that aims to improve the ability of interrogators to gather information from people who want to be perceived as cooperative but are motivated to hide information about their possible involvement in a crime. 

In several large-scale projects, we have studied how to distinguish between so-called true and false intentions. That is, truths and lies about future alleged actions. In summary, the research shows that it is possible to increase the difference in descriptions of such lies and truths by using strategic interviewing, such as the SUE technique. This knowledge is relevant in situations where it is important to be able to determine whether a person is lying or telling the truth about an their alleged future actions. This may involve determining the veracity of claimed reasons for entering a country at a border control, or determining whether a threat called in to a school is a real or a false threat. The research shows that without any tools, it is very difficult to distinguish between a true and a false intention. This is in line with what research shows about lies and truths related to an event that has taken place in the past.

Intelligence interviewing

The overall purpose of intelligence interviews is to gather relevant and reliable information about crimes that have been committed or are planned to be committed in the future. Unlike more traditional interviews with witnesses and suspects in criminal investigations, human intelligence is often collected from people who have a more indirect connection to a crime or to a planned future criminal act. The aim is often to obtain information on networks of people involved in large-scale plans, such as organized crime or planned terrorist attacks.

CLIP has developed the so-called Scharff technique. In short, the Scharff technique involves using a number of tactics in interrogations to maximize the outcome. These include being friendly, never pressing for information, and creating the illusion that the interrogator knows more than they actually do. Our studies on the Scharff technique have shown that, compared to more traditional and direct interrogation tactics, it provides more new relevant information, better masks the interrogator's goals, and that sources tend to underestimate their own contribution of new information.