The Unfair Psychology Behind Police Interrogations — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:00Why does anyone confess to the police?
2. 0:02While a plea bargain in court might
3. 0:03lower your punishment, confessing to
4. 0:05police can only hurt you. Yet, people do
5. 0:07it all the time.
6. 0:08What did you do?
7. 0:10I killed Richard Harrison. And killed
8. 0:12Harrison.
9. 0:14Guilty or wrongfully accused, an
10. 0:16officer's first step in an interrogation
11. 0:18is to pretend they are your ally. So,
12. 0:20before mentioning anything about the
13. 0:22case, police will try to build rapport
14. 0:24by bringing you something to drink or
15. 0:25bonding over commonalities. The goal is
16. 0:27to make you feel relaxed and
17. 0:29unthreatened. Watch this next clip. You
18. 0:31would never guess from his behavior that
19. 0:33the detective already has hard evidence
20. 0:35that the guy in front of him is a
21. 0:36murderer.
22. 0:37I'm a big coffee guy. I don't know if
23. 0:38you're a a coffee guy or not, but I
24. 0:40didn't want to drink in front of you, so
25. 0:42No, I appreciate that.
26. 0:43All right, go ahead.
27. 0:43Russell, just to avoid any confusion cuz
28. 0:45people do get confused when they're
29. 0:47talked to by the police. Is it
30. 0:50you're obviously not under arrest here
31. 0:51today, okay? Anytime you feel you want
32. 0:53to leave here, you feel free to do so.
33. 0:55The door's not locked. Reese will walk
34. 0:56you down the lobby anytime you want,
35. 0:58okay?
36. 0:59Once they build rapport with you, the
37. 1:00next step is what police call a positive
38. 1:02confrontation. They tell you they
39. 1:04already know you're guilty and they just
40. 1:05want to know why you did it. This is
41. 1:08where things get interesting. Whether
42. 1:09it's true or not, interrogators will
43. 1:11tell you they have so much evidence that
44. 1:13your guilt isn't in doubt. This can
45. 1:16involve illegally lying to you about
46. 1:18fake witnesses, fingerprints, DNA, or
47. 1:20video footage. In this next clip, an
48. 1:22officer tries to get a confession from
49. 1:24an innocent man. Notice the confusion
50. 1:26and doubt that starts to creep in when
51. 1:28he's faced with false evidence.
52. 1:30There's a number a number of witnesses.
53. 1:33Great.
54. 1:34One of whom had a video camera.
55. 1:36Perfect.
56. 1:37Yeah.
57. 1:38Yeah. So, view the video camera.
58. 1:39I have.
59. 1:40Okay.
60. 1:42That's why your guilt isn't an an an
61. 1:45issue here.
62. 1:46That doesn't even make sense to me.
63. 1:48Because if I'm on the video camera
64. 1:52While faking evidence is extremely
65. 1:54effective at getting guilty people to
66. 1:56confess, it can unfortunately result in
67. 1:58innocent people confessing as well. One
68. 2:00of the more heartbreaking examples of
69. 2:01this is Marty Tankleff. At 17 years old,
70. 2:04Marty woke up and found his mother
71. 2:06stabbed to death and his father bleeding
72. 2:07and unconscious. Marty called 911. After
73. 2:10bringing him in as a suspect and
74. 2:12interrogating him for hours without
75. 2:13success, an officer lied to Marty that
76. 2:15his father had woken up and identified
77. 2:17him as the attacker. Marty knew he was
78. 2:20innocent, but didn't realize that police
79. 2:21can lie during an interrogation. So,
80. 2:23suddenly he started to doubt himself,
81. 2:25thinking maybe he did it while in a
82. 2:26blackout. Marty then gave a false
83. 2:28confession that he immediately took
84. 2:29back, saying he was coerced while in a
85. 2:31state of shock. But, that confession led
86. 2:33to his conviction and he spent 17 years
87. 2:35in prison before being deemed innocent
88. 2:37and set free. Part of the reason these
89. 2:39positive confrontations are so effective
90. 2:41is because the police are trained to
91. 2:42speak with complete certainty when
92. 2:44presenting the evidence to you. In this
93. 2:46next clip, police are looking for a
94. 2:47missing woman. They're interrogating a
95. 2:49co-worker who claimed he hadn't seen her
96. 2:51the day she disappeared. Listen to how
97. 2:53the officer's tone conveys no doubt
98. 2:55about whether or not the missing woman
99. 2:56was caught on camera in this guy's car.
100. 2:59Okay, well, tell us
101. 3:01when you left, was her in the car? Cuz
102. 3:03that is what is shown. We can't make up
103. 3:06that. We can't falsify a video camera
104. 3:10leak.
105. 3:11I'm not lying to you, cuz you know I'm
106. 3:13telling the truth because you know
107. 3:15that's what's on the video.
108. 3:17Now, in this case, the video camera was
109. 3:19real, but they had no way of proving the
110. 3:21missing girl got into his car, just a
111. 3:23car that looked like it might be his.
112. 3:25Yet, because the detective says it with
113. 3:27such conviction, he confesses that he's
114. 3:29been lying to police and admits he was
115. 3:31the last person seen with the missing
116. 3:32woman. Ultimately, this led to him
117. 3:34confessing to police that he murdered
118. 3:36her.
119. 3:37Because this confrontation with evidence
120. 3:38is often the first time you'll realize
121. 3:40you're a serious suspect, it's very
122. 3:41common for people to push back and deny
123. 3:43their guilt. This is where the next
124. 3:45psychological trick comes into play.
125. 3:47Police interrogators shut down denials
126. 3:49immediately before you can even state
127. 3:51them. This pattern interrupt makes sure
128. 3:54you don't build up confidence in your
129. 3:55ability to stand up for yourself. Here's
130. 3:57a quick example.
131. 3:58I did not have a firearm in my hand.
132. 4:00that. We can prove that. We're beyond
133. 4:02that point, buddy. We're beyond that,
134. 4:04man.
135. 4:05The goal is to create the feeling that
136. 4:06there's nothing you can do to convince
137. 4:08them you're completely innocent. Here's
138. 4:10another example. Notice the cutoff comes
139. 4:12as soon as the man tries to deny hurting
140. 4:14his missing family.
141. 4:16I don't know how much I can I
142. 4:18tell you right now, like I did not
143. 4:20And it's not even it's not even an
144. 4:21option right now because you did not
145. 4:23pass a polygraph. So, I know you were
146. 4:24being deceptive. So, that's not even an
147. 4:26issue an issue right now. The issue
148. 4:28right now is what happened to Shannan,
149. 4:31Bella, and Celeste.
150. 4:33Now that you're feeling trapped, beaten
151. 4:34down, and hopeless, the next step is to
152. 4:36give you a way out of this mess with
153. 4:38minimization. The goal here is to get
154. 4:41you to confess by minimizing the
155. 4:42perceived evil of the crime. One way to
156. 4:45do this is to say that you did what
157. 4:46anyone would have done in your
158. 4:47situation. Watch Officer George Birge
159. 4:50explain how this alone can get a
160. 4:51confession.
161. 4:52I had a sexual assault case.
162. 4:55I had to talk to the guy how hot the
163. 4:57woman was, and I understand where he was
164. 4:58coming from.
165. 4:59And when that when I said that, we were
166. 5:01buds.
167. 5:02And he started talking to me.
168. 5:04And he's still sitting in prison.
169. 5:06Another trick is to let you think
170. 5:07there's a chance you can shape the story
171. 5:09that gets out. Believe it or not, the
172. 5:11questions you're about to see are what
173. 5:13finally convinced this man to confess to
174. 5:15murder.
175. 5:16When stuff gets out that you guys left
176. 5:18and all that together and all that,
177. 5:20I stopped I stopped.
178. 5:21You want people to remember you as a guy
179. 5:23who said, "Okay, look,
180. 5:26I'm going to do the right thing."
181. 5:29Or do you want your family and everybody
182. 5:31else
183. 5:33to think that you're some evil,
184. 5:35heartless person
185. 5:37who won't tell us where she is. Please
186. 5:38tell me where to go find her.
187. 5:46That's how people will remember you.
188. 5:48During this minimization process, police
189. 5:50will often use what they call
190. 5:52alternative questions. Basically,
191. 5:54they'll present you with a story where
192. 5:55you're guilty of the crime, but in a way
193. 5:58that's more sympathetic or justifiable.
194. 6:00Returning to the case of Chris Watts,
195. 6:02his wife and two daughters are missing
196. 6:03and he's already failed a lie detector.
197. 6:05Watch how the interrogator first tries
198. 6:07to minimize the crime as a mistake and
199. 6:09then poses an alternative question to
200. 6:11make Chris feel like he can confess
201. 6:13without being the bad guy.
202. 6:15We have no doubt you love these girls
203. 6:17with all of your heart.
204. 6:20I've no doubt.
205. 6:23But we make mistakes.
206. 6:25Mhm.
207. 6:26I did not do that to them.
208. 6:27all three of them? Like
209. 6:27not do anything to those kids.
210. 6:30Nothing to either of them.
211. 6:31What did you do to them, Andrew? Tell
212. 6:32us.
213. 6:33Tell us, Chris.
214. 6:36My chicks are crazy.
215. 6:38Can I talk to my dad or something?
216. 6:40Chris desperately wants to get out of
217. 6:41this interrogation and he latches onto
218. 6:43the idea that he can lie and say his
219. 6:45wife was hurting his kids.
220. 6:47She killed them.
221. 6:50They're
222. 6:52They're both
223. 6:53Both of them.
224. 6:55She killed both of them in the bed.
225. 6:57I freaked out and then she said to me
226. 7:04Just like that, the police have him
227. 7:06confessing on tape for murder. You may
228. 7:08think this is actually smart of Chris
229. 7:10because at least he's only getting
230. 7:11convicted for one murder instead of
231. 7:13three, but in reality, his minimized
232. 7:15confession hasn't done his case any
233. 7:17favors because the police don't actually
234. 7:19buy it.
235. 7:20I did not hurt these girls.
236. 7:21Are you okay with the public knowing
237. 7:23that Shannan did it?
238. 7:23Yes, cuz I did not hurt these girls.
239. 7:26Chris, I'm not sure what to do.
240. 7:29Minimizing a crime during an
241. 7:30interrogation is very effective at
242. 7:32getting the guilty to confess in hopes
243. 7:34of a less harsh penalty. Unfortunately,
244. 7:36it can also be effective on the
245. 7:37innocent. Here's an example that isn't
246. 7:39as clear-cut as Chris Watts. This man
247. 7:42says he's innocent, the police say he's
248. 7:44guilty. He's being accused of shooting a
249. 7:45police officer. After 7 hours of telling
250. 7:48the police he didn't do it and being
251. 7:50told he's lying, you can imagine how
252. 7:52this alternative story suddenly becomes
253. 7:53appealing.
254. 7:54It could have It could have been a
255. 7:55[ __ ] accident. It could have been an
256. 7:57accidental discharge.
257. 8:00Okay, but when you don't when you're
258. 8:01completely denying that, then then I got
259. 8:03to think another way, bro.
260. 8:04All right. Now, we need to know if you
261. 8:06tried to kill that deputy or did you
262. 8:08just discharge a firearm
263. 8:10and have some misdemeanor?
264. 8:11Imagine that's you. The police have
265. 8:13thrown a mountain of real or fake
266. 8:14evidence against you, told you they're
267. 8:16absolutely certain you're guilty, and
268. 8:18shut you down instantly whenever you try
269. 8:19to deny it. You feel like everything is
270. 8:21stacked against you and fear you'll get
271. 8:23wrongfully convicted for shooting a
272. 8:24police officer. Then the interrogating
273. 8:26officer tells you that confessing is
274. 8:28your way out of this mess with as little
275. 8:30penalty as possible.
276. 8:32It's suddenly easy to understand why
277. 8:33police are phenomenal at getting
278. 8:35criminals to confess. Unfortunately,
279. 8:37it's also easy to see why some innocent
280. 8:39people falsely confess.
281. 8:41If you want to learn more about false
282. 8:42confessions and the dangers of talking
283. 8:44to police even if you're innocent, I
284. 8:45highly recommend you check out Professor
285. 8:47James Duane's audiobook, You Have the
286. 8:49Right to Remain Innocent, which you can
287. 8:51get for free thanks to our sponsor for
288. 8:52this video, Audible. It really hammers
289. 8:54home why you should always get a lawyer
290. 8:56if the police call you in for
291. 8:57questioning. One of the lessons from
292. 8:59Professor Duane is that even if you
293. 9:00don't confess, police will try to get
294. 9:03you on the record with seemingly
295. 9:04harmless details so that they can
296. 9:05potentially use them against you later.
297. 9:07For example, he shares the story of a
298. 9:09man who told police that an
299. 9:10ex-girlfriend of his lived in a certain
300. 9:12neighborhood, and that piece of
301. 9:13information, voluntarily shared, got him
302. 9:16falsely imprisoned for 20 years for a
303. 9:18rape it turned out he did not commit.
304. 9:19You Have the Right to Remain Innocent
305. 9:21has a number of incredible and shocking
306. 9:23stories of people being imprisoned for a
307. 9:25variety of small things they said or did
308. 9:27while being interrogated. You can get it
309. 9:29for free by going to
310. 9:30audible.com/charisma
311. 9:32or texting charisma to 500500.
312. 9:35Audible is my favorite audiobook
313. 9:37platform and something I personally use
314. 9:38all the time. It's a great way to take
315. 9:40time that's normally dead time like
316. 9:42doing errands around the house and
317. 9:44transform it into productive time where
318. 9:45you're learning and improving yourself.
319. 9:47By joining Audible, you get a credit
320. 9:48every month to use on any title in their
321. 9:50premium selection regardless of price.
322. 9:52You also get access to their plus
323. 9:53catalog with thousands of titles you can
324. 9:55listen to for free. Again, if you want
325. 9:57to try it out, you can go to
326. 9:58audible.com/charisma
327. 10:00or text charisma to 500500 and get a
328. 10:03free 30-day trial including any
329. 10:05audiobook you want. One other quick
330. 10:07note, a lot of the interrogations I
331. 10:08studied to make this video seem to
332. 10:10follow something called the Reid
333. 10:11technique. If you want to watch the Reid
334. 10:13technique being used in full length
335. 10:14interrogations, I recommend the YouTube
336. 10:16channel JCS Criminal Psychology. Either
337. 10:19way, I hope you like this video. I want
338. 10:21to thank our video editor Therese for
339. 10:22working so hard to edit it. Thank you so
340. 10:24much for watching and hopefully we'll
341. 10:25see you in the next one.