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The Top Ten Common Mistakes In Crime TV - Number 2 The Suspect Interview

Interviewing, especially suspect interviewing, is extremely common place in all Crime TV/Film productions. But how accurate are they? Well, as I say many times in these blogs the scene has been created to advance the storyline and will quite often it will have been filmed in the manner it has for dramatic effect. In another earlier blog I spoke about authenticity and whether it mattered. This is obviously a matter for you but if you know how anything is done right then at least it is your decision whether you follow the real way or create a new way. If you have no idea how it is done from the start then you may end up creating something that is so far fetched anyone reading it may dismiss it as nonsense at an early stage. Carrying on in this series of blogs I am now going to cover this area of policing.

Number 2 - The Suspect Interview 
TV Portrayal - The main detective in a police show will always conduct the suspect interview. Clearly this is for dramatic effect as discussed previously. Any show needs continuity for the main characters and to show that they are solving the case. The normal procedure is that the productions main character(s) will be a senior police officer probably a Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) or a Detective Inspector (DI) with a side kick Detective Sergeant (DS) or Detective Constable (DC). Saying that in "Granchester" the sidekick is a vicar so it's not always bound to be another police officer.  These main characters will interview all the main witnesses, visit the crime scene, attend the post mortem if it is a murder case, arrest and interview the suspect. Okay this blog is not about everything they will or will not do in real life this is just about interviewing the suspect.
Side-Kicks

Let's say this is Luther, I always end up with DCI Luther for some reason, and he has arrested a suspect and taken them straight back to the police station, booked him/her into custody via the custody officer during which he would have to explain what he has arrested the suspect for, what the evidence is for the arrest and what he intends doing next which will be interviewing. In real life this process, unless urgent and authorised by a Superintendent which allows for limited questions in certain circumstances see "A Confession" as an example when this was used, would mean Luther would have to wait for a number of hours before he would get to interview the suspect. I will cover custody issues in a later blog as that is a large subject area on it's own. 

So let's move on to the actual suspect interview. What is important for the writer is to firstly establish how that interview will be recorded? During my service I saw many changes to this process from writing notes, to writing a full transcript of the interview, to cassette tapes recording the interview and moving on to DVD recordings of the interview being video captured. Along the way the police have tried other methods such as streaming the interview to a typing pool where it was typed ready for being reviewed if required by another officer or lawyer. As a side note CPS lawyers when reviewing the case would never watch or listen to an interview they would read a transcript produced by the police as other wise it would be too time consuming. It may be that one portion of the interview which contains a relevant piece of material would be viewed or listened to but even this is unlikely unless it was to be used at court. 

The Interview Process - I do not intend to go over examples on TV/Film police interviews but rather tell you what does not happen and why.
  • Lying - The police are not allowed to lie to the suspect in an interview. This would be deemed as a trap and anything gained from such an interview would be deemed inadmissible as evidence and excluded as stated under Sections 76 and 78 Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE).
  • Aggressive Interviewing - Police interview training teaches officers to build a rapport and to treat the suspect with respect. Yes the interview will contain a challenge phase if the suspect gives an account which goes against the evidence that has been recovered to date but this will be near the end of the interview and certainly not at the beginning.
  • No Solicitor - If the suspect requests a solicitor then the interview will not go ahead without one unless for the reasons stated below. If the suspect initially agreed to the interview taking place without a solicitor and then at any point requests one the interview must be stopped and a solicitor/legal advisor contacted. As mentioned an urgent interview, without a solicitor if not present, can take with the authority of a Superintendent as long as the reasons are as stated in PACE Codes of Practice Code C 11.1 -  
(a) lead to:
• interference with, or harm to, evidence connected with an offence;
• interference with, or physical harm to, other people; or
• serious loss of, or damage to, property;
(b) lead to alerting other people suspected of committing an offence but not yet arrested for it; or
(c) hinder the recovery of property obtained in consequence of the commission of an offence.

Of note is the fact that the interview is limited to establishing these facts and once the relevant risk has been averted or the necessary questions have been put in order to attempt to avert that risk the interview should be stopped.
  • Suspect's Talk - It is fair to say that the vast majority of interviews conducted for serious offences are met with the suspect refusing to answer questions and either saying no comment or producing a pre-prepared statement prior to the interview questions beginning. Whilst working within the Homicide Unit in the MPS we used to say if someone spoke during the interview they were innocent as anything they said they were aware would be checked and thus would most likely be the truth. People who would speak were normally either those arrested for the first time, the innocent or very rarely the guilty who wish to confess. 
  • Lack of Disclosure - A large process of the interview process is what the interviewing police officers disclose to a suspect to the suspect's lawyer prior to the interview. If this is a serious matter a staged process of disclosure is normally used. In this way the police do not show the suspect all their evidence in an attempt to prevent the suspect simply making up something that fits the facts you have given them. The problem is that solicitors and suspects are aware of police methods and as such ask if there is going to be further disclosure all the time. What is the legal position? Well the police do not have to disclose anything pre-interview apart from the details of the arrest which is normally given to the solicitor/legal advisor in the way of a print of the custody record to that time. This will tell them what their client, the suspect, has been arrested for, when and by whom. The reality is if the police did not give some form of disclosure then the interview would be an even slower process as the solicitor would advice their client to say nothing until they know what the evidence is that led to their arrest. Police will therefore supply the solicitor on his own an amount of information in relation to their client and what the interview purpose will be. This in serious cases is often audio recorded, at least, to preserve the integrity of what the solicitor has been informed and how the police answered any questions the solicitor asked of them at this time. The solicitor will then speak with their client, give them legal advice and the interview will then take place. If required further disclosure is then supplied to the solicitor and the process begins again. All in all a time consuming process.

SUMMARY

Let's put the suspect interview process into bullet points to help you with appreciating how long this will take and giving you an understanding why a senior investigating officer could not afford the time to be involved in the process.

  • The suspect is arrested - there may be a delay due to searches but they will then be taken to a designated police station
  • The suspect will be booked in to the custody suite - there may be a delay as there could be people waiting to be booked in already or there may not be enough custody staff available to assist with the process
  • During the custody booking in process the suspect will be searched and given their rights. If they request the advice or attendance of a legal advisor then this will need to be arranged. There is no right in this country for the suspect to be allowed one phone call. Any phone calls the suspect wishes to make will be the decision of the custody officer. If the case is such that the investigation team wish the suspect not to make any calls then they will be placed in incommunicado. The investigation team will have to follow a legal procedure to put this in place
  • Depending on the case the suspect may need to see the FME or medical staff. They will need to have their fingerprints and photograph taken
  • If the suspect is under the influence of drink or drugs they will need to recover from their influence prior to interview unless it is an emergency interview procedure at which point with the relevant authority in place they could be interviewed on a specific matter only
  • If the legal advisor is to attend then there may be a delay due to them having to travel to the interview location or because they are dealing with another client at the time
  • The interviewing team will prepare disclosure. If it is a serious case such as murder and this was a pre-planned arrest then it is possible the disclosure has already been prepared and once the solicitor has arrived he  or she can be given this as described earlier
  • The legal advisor will have a consultation with their client, the suspect, prior to any interview where they will discuss the case and the disclosure the police have given at that time
  • The interview will take place. The suspect will either make a pre-prepared statement. Say nothing or no comment or answer the interviewing officers questions either some or all
  • A pre-prepared statement is normally read out by the solicitor and states the suspects views on the case. It may give an alibi, a straight denial or some other comment the suspect wishes to say. If a pre-prepared statement is produced the normal process is that the suspect will refuse to answer any further questions 
  • After the initial interview the police may have to conduct further enquiries if the suspect has either said or read out an alibi. This will have to be examined prior to any further interview
  • Prior to any further interview as explained another disclosure phase will take place followed by the solicitor again speaking with their client
  • If it is late at night and their client is clearly tired then the officers may feel it is not in the suspects best interests to continue interviewing and the interview may be suspended and the suspect given a time to sleep and refresh. The interview process will then continue the following morning. Sometimes this is delayed as the police are continuing with their enquiries or the solicitor has another appointment that he needs to deal with first
  • During the time the suspect is interview they may need to attend an identification parade. This will stop the interview process for that to be completed
  • At the end of the interviews the police will then consider the evidence and make a decision whether to approach the CPS for a decision whether to charge the suspect with an offence or decide to bail or release under investigation
Hopefully from just reading the summary of some of the things that can happen during a suspect's time in custody you can see why the police have 24 hours in the first place to deal with an arrested person and why the interview process can be such a protracted procedure.
  

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