John E Reid Technique

Specialized interrogation training and techniques.

Learn John E. Reid Interrogation Techniques in Your Police Interviews and Uncover the Truth

iRecord partners with John Reid Interrogation and Interview Techniques™, the most-used interrogation technique in the country. The Reid Technique relies on a careful analysis of the facts of a case, as well as a behavioral analysis interview with the suspect, before concluding whether an interrogation is merited. During interrogation, the Reid Technique draws a distinction between getting a confession and getting the truth. It’s widely recognized as the most effective means available to exonerate the innocent and identify the guilty.

Trained Reid interrogators tailor their questioning to a suspect’s natural instincts. Someone suspected of a crime is unlikely to simply admit guilt, for a variety of reasons. They may want to avoid the consequences of their actions– they may also want to insist that they’re not a bad person. The goal of the Reid Technique is to make it easier for suspects to tell the truth by becoming a partner in their natural tendency to rationalize their behavior or blame someone else. Throughout the interrogation, both nonverbal and verbal communication are carefully observed.

iRecord’s interview room recording equipment uses a two-camera system perfectly designed to work with the Reid interview technique. They capture every nuance of witness behavior, while also providing complete transparency during the interview process. By documenting a lack of coercion and intimidation, iRecord technology ensures that the Reid technique is being properly applied, and that a confession will hold up in court.

iRecord systems are also ideal training aids. Use them to evaluate interrogator performance in a variety of ways:

Repeated rewatchings have been shown to reveal new insights, and video is a proven way to reduce defensiveness when discussing an employee’s performance. In fact, when video documentation is used, officers can be their own toughest critics. They’re often better able to pinpoint their own missteps than their supervisors are, because they know exactly what their decision-making process was at the time.

To get the most out of Reid Technique interrogations at your agency, use our digital interview recording equipment to document your interrogations.

iRecord & John Reid Partnership

We are excited to announce a new partnership formed between iRecord LLC and John E. Reid and Associates. This agreement leverages the expertise of each company to bring advanced Interview Recording technology and professional training on proven interrogation techniques to Law Enforcement agencies across the entire US.

John E. Reid and Associates began developing interview and interrogation techniques in 1947. The Reid Technique of Interviewing® and Interrogation is now the most widely used approach to question subjects in the world. The content of our instructional material has continued to develop and change over the years. John E. Reid and Associates is the only organization that can teach the current version of our training program on The Reid Technique®.

John Reid Technique Case Studies

Ten “Do’s and Don’ts” for Obtaining a Reliable Confession

Physical coercion, torture, duress, denial of rights, threats, and promises of leniency are the poison pills of legally admissible, reliable, and voluntary confessions. Obviously we should not engage in such behaviors or any tactics that could render a confession involuntary. This article is intended to assist the professional investigator by outlining statements and techniques that should be avoided so as to insure the integrity of the subject’s confession.

In August 2016 in the case Dassey v. Dittmann (which was highlighted by the popular Netflix television show, “Making a Murderer”) U.S. Magistrate, Judge William Duffin, ruled that the guilty verdict returned by a trial jury in 2007 against Brendan Dassey for the murder of freelance photographer Teresa Halbach was based on an involuntary confession that was obtained as a result of “constitutionally impermissible promises.”

Positive Persuasion – Motivating the Subject to Tell the Truth

Positive persuasion consists of a variety of persuasive statements offered by the investigator to motivate, influence, and persuade the subject to want to tell the truth. The information developed in the interview is used to construct a strategy for the positive persuasion phase and elicit the truth from a subject using logic, sound reasoning, understanding, empathy, rationalization, and minimization. These techniques are utilized after the non-accusatory interview and only when the investigator has developed sufficient investigative information to believe that the subject is involved in committing the crime that is under investigation or is withholding knowledge about the incident under investigation.

Positive Persuasion Positive persuasion consists of seven steps including overcoming resistance, addressing the subject’s fears, and establishing details. The centerpiece of the seven steps is step two, the development of persuasive statements.