Drawing on decades of experience in federal law enforcement, Bradford J. Beyer challenges the prevailing academic narrative on false confessions in this groundbreaking examination of criminal interrogation. “Rethinking the False Confession Phenomenon” provides a much-needed counterbalance to the one-sided discussion that has long dominated this controversial subject.

Beyer skillfully dissects the flawed research methodologies, questionable statistics, and anti-law enforcement biases that have shaped public perception of false confessions. Through interviews with seasoned state and federal polygraph examiners who specialize in interrogation, he reveals profound disconnects between laboratory experiments with college students and the realities faced by professional interrogators.

The author meticulously reexamines the Innocence Project's statistics, demonstrating that when factors like mental illness, cognitive disabilities, youth, and police misconduct are properly considered, the frequency of false confessions due to legitimate interrogation techniques is vanishingly small. Beyer further exposes how academic researchers and expert witnesses have created an industry around attacking law enforcement interrogation methods, despite lacking practical experience.

This thought-provoking work doesn't deny the existence of false confessions but argues persuasively that they're far less common than portrayed. Beyer provides practical guidance for interrogators while making a compelling case that legitimate interrogation techniques produce overwhelmingly reliable results when properly applied.

If you enjoyed “Criminal Interrogation and Confessions,” “The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions,” or “Police Interrogation and American Justice,” you'll love “Rethinking the False Confession Phenomenon.”

Bradford J. Beyer

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