View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Goldsmiths Research Online Farrugia, Laura. 2019. Mental disorder and investigative interviewing: towards a practice-based framework. Doctoral thesis, Goldsmiths, University of London [Thesis] http://research.gold.ac.uk/26404/ The version presented here may differ from the published, performed or presented work. Please go to the persistent GRO record above for more information. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Goldsmiths, University of London via the following email address: [email protected]. The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. For more information, please contact the GRO team: [email protected] Mental disorder and investigative interviewing: Towards a practice-based framework Laura Farrugia Department of Psychology Goldsmiths, University of London For the award of PhD 1 Declaration Declaration of Authorship I, Laura Farrugia, hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated. Signed: Date: 16th September 2018 2 Acknowledgements “Make your life a masterpiece; imagine no limitations on what you can be, have or do” (Brian Tracy) To those that assisted along the way, thank you. Fiona, thank you for helping me make it a masterpiece. Dedicated to my grandfather, for always being my hero. “We must meet the challenge rather than wish it were not before us” (William Brennan) 3 Abstract Since the process of deinstitutionalisation, increasing numbers of those with mental disorder are coming into contact with the criminal justice system. As such, police officers are required to be able to effectively interview this vulnerable cohort in an appropriate manner to elicit accurate and reliable information. However, there is a lack of psychological research that explores the vulnerable suspect during the investigative interview. This is concerning given that those with a mental disorder are at a heightened risk of providing misleading information and falsely implicating themselves. The current thesis sets to address this. Exploring police officers’ perceptions of mental disorder indicated that there is still a lack of understanding of what constitutes a mental disorder, and that the level of experience the officer has impacts upon their perceptions of this vulnerable group. Thus, the treatment and outcome of the MD suspect is heavily dependent on whom they encounter. Further studies explored the actual interviewing of MD suspects by examining real-life transcripts, and via experimental methods. Results indicated that current practice may not be best for interviewing the MD suspect; that is, one size may not fit all in terms of questioning style. Other work explored the efficacy of the current safeguards utilised within the investigative interview; here it was found that Appropriate Adults continue to remain passive in their approach, thus not fulfilling their role as part of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Finally, the introduction of the Forensic Interview TraceÓ is outlined as a standardised structure for police officers to effectively evaluate their interviews in order to ensure their skillset does not decline, especially when one considers the complexities involved when interviewing MD suspects. Implications are discussed throughout in relation to relevant theoretical and empirical work, as well as applications and potential impact of the research. 4 Table of Contents Chapter One: From Interrogation to Investigative Interviewing ..................................... 16 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 16 The Role of Interrogations: The Reid Interrogation Technique ............................................... 16 False Confessions and Miscarriages of Justice ......................................................................... 20 Investigative Interviewing in England and Wales .................................................................... 23 Questioning Strategies in Investigative Interviews .................................................................. 29 Summary and Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 32 Chapter Two: Vulnerable Suspects and the Criminal Justice System ............................... 34 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 34 What is Vulnerability? .............................................................................................................. 34 Perceptions of Mental Illness ................................................................................................... 35 Vulnerable Suspects and the Investigative Interview: Current Guidance ................................ 38 Identifying vulnerability and the role of the Appropriate Adult .............................................. 39 The introduction of the Appropriate Adult. ....................................................................................... 39 Identifying vulnerability. .................................................................................................................... 41 Using the Appropriate Adult. ............................................................................................................. 43 The Investigative Interview: Questioning Strategies and Mental Health ................................ 44 Summary and Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 50 5 Chapter Three: Study One: Vulnerable Suspects: Police Officers’ Perceptions and Experiences ...................................................................................................................... 52 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 52 Police Officers’ Perceptions of Vulnerable Suspects: Current Research .................................. 53 Aims and Research Questions of the Current Study ................................................................ 57 Method ............................................................................................................................ 58 Ethical Approval ....................................................................................................................... 58 Design ...................................................................................................................................... 58 Participants .............................................................................................................................. 59 Materials .................................................................................................................................. 60 Data Analysis Strategy ............................................................................................................. 60 Results ............................................................................................................................. 62 Participant Demographics ........................................................................................................ 62 Qualitative Results ................................................................................................................... 63 Interviewee centred ................................................................................................................. 65 Understanding and perceptions of mental health. ............................................................................ 65 Communication difficulties in mental health. .................................................................................... 66 Cognition level and subsequent assistance. ....................................................................................... 69 Interview centred .................................................................................................................... 70 Emphasis and importance of investigation relevant information. ..................................................... 70 Impact of question type on behaviour and cognition. ....................................................................... 71 Use and impact on time. .................................................................................................................... 73 6 Interviewer centred ................................................................................................................. 74 Appropriateness of person centred approach and communication accommodation theory. .......... 74 Interviewer experience and perceptions of safeguards ..................................................................... 75 Current and future training perceptions. ........................................................................................... 77 Police experience transitional model. ................................................................................................ 78 Discussion ........................................................................................................................ 81 Summary and Conclusion .......................................................................................................