Police perceptions of youth interrogative suggestibility and false confession rates

最近的媒体报道突出了一些骇人听闻的案件，在这些案件中，年轻的无辜嫌疑人被错误地定罪，因为他们在强制审讯程序中虚假供述。这项调查将在全国范围内提供关于大约1400名执法人员审讯实践、对这些技术可靠性的信念以及儿童发展知识的第一份文件。来自美国三个大城市和三个地理位置的三个大型执法机构以及三个小型执法机构的各级警察将完成对审讯做法和发展常识的调查。参与者将收到三个版本的审问调查之一和两个发展调查中的一个。审讯调查包括49个关于实际审讯做法、信仰和虚假供词的问题。这项发展调查包括20个关于青少年和成年人发展差异的问题。因素分析和方差分析将被用来探索发展调查的版本和因素之间的关系。这些分析将决定警方是否承认青少年和成年人之间的发展差异，以及在审问过程中是否对儿童、青少年和成年人有不同的看法。这项研究是第一次合作努力，以获得关于在审讯过程中处理青少年的培训的警察做法、信仰和需求的标准化文件。

Recent media coverage has highlighted egregious cases in which young innocent suspects were wrongly convicted because they falsely confessed during coercive interrogation procedures. This investigation will provide the first, nationwide documentation of approximately 1,400 law enforcement officers' interrogation practices, beliefs about the reliability of these techniques, and knowledge of child development. Police of various ranks from three large law enforcement agencies across three metropolitan U.S. cities and three geographical locations, as well as from three small law enforcement agencies, will complete surveys on interrogation practices and general knowledge of development. Participants will receive one of three versions of an interrogation survey and one of two developmental surveys. The interrogation survey consists of 49 questions about actual interrogation practices, beliefs, and false confessions. The developmental survey consists of 20 questions about developmental differences between youth and adults. Factor analysis and ANOVA will be used to explore relationships between version of developmental surveys and factors. These analyses will determine whether police acknowledge developmental differences between youth and adults and perceive children, youth, and adults differently during interrogation. This research is the first collaborative effort to obtain a standardized documentation of police practices, beliefs, and needs for training regarding the handling of youth during the interrogation process.