3.4 Reporting back to the SIO
Did you change your mind as to whether Neale was guilty or not? Hopefully, even if you thought he was not guilty previously, reading about miscarriages of justice and false confessions in the real world, and also the psychological theory and research seeking to explain why these happen, will have given you new insights into how the behaviour of an officer can affect what the suspect says.
Being aware of good interviewing practice and identifying where an officer may have influenced a suspect is an important part of police investigations. You will now get a chance to use your expertise in the psychology of suspect interviewing as you prepare to report back to the SIO.
Activity 4
Based on your thoughts about the validity of Neale’s confession, prepare a final list of psychological issues to present to SIO Harris outlining your view regarding Neale’s confession.
While creating this list, imagine yourself in the role of a psychological expert who has been asked to comment on the psychological issues that have arisen in the interviews of Neale by Bullet.
Once you have created your own list of psychological issues you think arise in the suspect interviews of Neale by Bullet, move on to the next section where you’ll watch Zoë and Graham discuss their view of the psychological issues in the case.