Therefore, the reliability and credibility of the information gathered is of utmost importance to the investigation (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). The outcome of an interrogation is influenced by a number of factors; nature of the interrogation, age and motivation of suspect, intelligence level, mental health, personality, and access to legal advice (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). With this in mind, the outcome of the interrogation is not always as expected as some individuals break easily under pressure ((Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). According to the study conducted by Kassin, Drizin, Grisso, Gudjonsson, Leo & Redlich (2010), false confessions have a devastating impact on the well-being of innocent people as it is one of the leading cause of wrongful convictions. Furthermore, the courts tend to attach significant importance to a suspect’s confession regardless if its true or not (Kassin, et al., 2010). Therefore, interrogators should ensure that innocent people are not coerced into providing a false confession. Every individual charged with an offense is required due process through the courts (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). However, the Reid technique exploits suspects vulnerability through manipulative and confrontational tactics (Gudjonsson & Pearse, 2011). This technique is guilt presumptive and is used to break down the suspects resistance and denial …show more content…
Furthermore, a confession has significant importance in a court of law (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, the investigators can cut corners in their investigative work and still have a high probability of getting a conviction (Rubin, 2014). As a result, ethical issues and concerns are often brought about based on the deceptive tactics used in the Reid technique. The study by Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman (2014), examines why innocent people confess to a criminal act they are innocent of. The findings supported the arguments that people do and the sad truth is, the Reid technique facilitates most of these confessions (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). People under age 25 are more likely to be pressured into making a false confession that links them to a violent criminal activity (Malloy, Shulman & Cauffman, 2014). The innocence project found that in the last 25 years 38% of young people age 18 and under were later exonerated through DNA evidence after being convicted on false testimonies (Rubin, 2014). Juveniles make up a significant number of vulnerable population in society (Rubin, 2014). Therefore, they are susceptible to pressure as they do not understand their rights and how the criminal justice system works (Rubin,