Citation 1:

Flannagan, S. “The Shady Side of Police Psychology and False Confessions.” Grunge, Grunge, 26 Mar. 2021,
www.grunge.com/366284/the-shady-side-of-police-psychology-and-false-confessions/. Accessed 25 Oct. 2023.

Summary:

According to this article false confessions are not only the product of the accused not knowing what they have and haven’t done but also the accusers aka the police investigators intelligence use of psychological techniques to force a confession. Police officers in the integration rooms use a plethora of procedures to get as much information out of someone. Saying someone has failed a light detector exam or even saying they have false evidence is completely legal and something the justice department has been doing for decades now. This is all so officers can hope to force a confession out of the possible suspect whether they are truly the person they think they’re or not.

Reflection:

Do you agree or disagree with the text? Why or why not? Be specific!

  • I agree with this text, it really goes to show how the justice system which is setup to protect everyday people can easily be turned on them if they unfortunately ever find themself in a situation like a police interrogation.

Quote the text.

  • “Lying to suspects with the intention of extracting a confession is, surprisingly, an accepted practice in most American police forces”

What questions do you have about what the text is saying? What don’t you understand?

  • Why is this text completely putting out the idea that lie detector systems are false and shouldn’t be trusted?

What other information do you need to look up to better understand this article?

  • Just how many people have been affected by false accusations.

If you could say something to this author, what would you say?

  • Have you ever been or known anyone who has been in a police interrogation because there is really passion that can be seen in this text.

What does this document tell you about your research question?

  • This document tells me the tactics which officers use and also a gauge of how long they have been doing it for.

How do you feel about the author’s writing style?

  • The author’s writing style is perfect for the topic they are speaking about. They keep a serious tone the entire time showing that this is a very serious issue that if trade lightly can easily ruin someone’s life.

What is the author’s intended audience and purpose (reason for writing)?

  • Is to inform and possibly help those who would unfortunately find themself in police interrogation in which they’re innocent but are being treated like a convict.

Is the genre effective? Does the choice of genre make sense for what the author wants to accomplish?

  • The genre is non-fiction which fits well for a topic that is also non fiction and very real.

How do you know this is a credible author and document?

  • S. Flannagan not only has a bachelors in English Language & Literature but also an M.A. in English Literature, Language & Culture, with experience in examining popular music through the lens of literary criticism.

Quotation: 

“Richard Leo, associate professor of law at the University of San Francisco, told Frontline: “Most of what police do in interrogations … is legal: the accusations, yelling; moving in closer, invading one’s space; lying about evidence, making it up, pretending to have evidence; telling somebody they failed a polygraph, for example.” Most of us are familiar with hardball interrogation techniques from movies and television, but what isn’t so widely publicized is the fact that such methods may often lead to false confessions which then come to play a decisive part in a suspect’s subsequent conviction.”