Police Interrogation and Social Control
Vol. 3, Social and Legal Studies, 1994
28 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2008
Abstract
This article analyzes contemporary interrogation practices as one example of the changing character of formal control in policing. The article examines how police employ techniques of influence to generate compliance with their requests. The author argues that police power is exercised affirmatively to control behavior during interrogation. Rather than relying on force or the threat of punishment, police commonly use subtle and sophisticated psychological methods of influence (conditioning, persuasion, deception, neutralization, and normalization) to elicit inculpatory admissions.
Keywords: Criminal procedure, criminal justice, law enforcement, interrogation techniques
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