High-risk interrogation: using the "Mr. Big Technique" to elicit confessions.
Kassin et al. (Police-Induced Confessions: Risk Factors and Recommendation, 2009) provide a detailed and thoughtful analysis of how police interrogation practices might elicit false confessions from innocent suspects. The purpose of this commentary is to provide a brief review of a relatively recent development in Canadian police investigation practice and discuss how this procedure may increase the likelihood of police-induced false confessions. The so-called "Mr. Big Technique" is a non-custodial interrogation tactic wherein suspects are drawn into a supposed criminal organization (actually an elaborate police sting) and subsequently told that to move up in the organization, they must confess to a crime. In this article, we describe this remarkable interrogation technique and discuss issues relevant to the potential induction of false confessions.
Smith
Steven M
SM
Saint Mary's University, Halifax, NS, Canada. steven.smith@smu.ca
Stinson
Veronica
V
Patry
Marc W
MW
D002170:Canada; D003068:Coercion; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D014342:Truth Disclosure