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New Post has been published on http://www.rockindlaw.com/4962/blog/confession-chronicles-a-disturbing-development-school-administrators-are-being-trained-in-the-diabolical-reid-technique-parents-beware/
Confession Chronicles - A Disturbing Development: School Administrators Are Being Trained In The Diabolical "Reid Technique", Parents Beware
The Reid Technique, is in my opinion, one of the most significant contributors and accessories to wrongful convictions in the modern era. While physically beating a confession out of a subject is illegal, emotionally and psychologically wrestling one from him is, according to the advocates of the Reid Technique, acceptable. I have researched the Reid Method and written many articles about its proclivity to produce false confessions. For those in the dark about this method, it can be summed up thusly: a guilt presumptive interrogation technique in which the interrogator isolates the accused, refuses to accept denials and claims of innocence and as the pressure mounts on the subject who cannot free himself, the interrogator offers the accused ways out. Essentially, the message is — if you want this to end, confess. The interrogators use false evidence, lie and imply less serious consequences than if the accused continues to deny his guilt. I have seen it in action and it is diabolical.
For some time now, many lawyers that I respect, e.g., Josh Blanchard, Shannon Smith, and others have been warning and trying to warn parents about allowing police and even school authorities to interrogate their children without counsel. Too often, children in school are isolated and interrogated by school officials which statements are then turned over to the police causing the students to get in trouble both in the school district and with the law. There is now even greater cause for fear: school authorities are being trained in the Reid Technique.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/03/school-officials-learning-coercive-interrogations-tactics-to-extract-confessions-from-kids/
The headline of the RawStory.com is frightening to those of us who know anything about the Reid Technique and/or care about the welfare of students –
School officials learning coercive interrogations tactics to extract confessions from kids
According to the article, two different administrators’ organizations are sending their members to the Reid School of Interviewing and Interrogation despite what many of us know to be the faults of the method:
“These administrators are learning the “ Reid Technique ”, which relies on “maximization” and “minimization” tactics in order to induce suspects to confess. Minimization focuses on reducing a suspect’s feelings of guilt, while maximization is designed to heighten suspect anxiety using confrontation. Both techniques are legal and both are incredibly coercive.”
One overlooked aspect of the desire to train principals and administrators in the Reid Technique is the fact that children in school are essentially detained, robbed of their ability to avoid the confrontation and interrogation. While most adults would find it difficult to resist the confrontation and interrogation, students are not free to leave, are not free to refuse and are not emotionally and mentally capable of resisting the authority of the school. Most would fear the consequences of refusing. In fact, the mere act of refusing to cooperate or of attempting to walk out of the principal’s office could and would likely subject the student to school discipline. In other words, they are trapped. Compound their captive status with the lack of protection to children and the fact that even Reid warns against using their methods on children (Reid & Associates itself advises caution when using the technique on children, especially in schools) and we have a near perfect environment for false confessions.
As a parent, I have advised my children not to participate in a school-led interrogation and to always demand that I be present. I suggest the same for you and your children. Moreover, I encourage parents to resist participating in subjecting their children to either school or police interviews or interrogations. I cannot stress this enough:
More and more, children are being subject to interrogations about matters that did not occur on school grounds or on school property. It is none of the school’s business what happens off campus. Your child should be protected.
As a lawyer, I recently finished representing a child in a school disciplinary proceeding in which the police and administration extracted a false confession from the child. We prevailed. The child was returned to school but not before both he and his family suffered greatly. If you suspect that your child is being mistreated or has been subjected to this type of interrogation in school, please contact a lawyer familiar with these issues. Clearly, you can contact my office at 248.208.3800 or if not my office, contact Shannon Smith, a lawyer that is very experienced in school disciplinary matters.
Neil Rockind is a criminal defense trial lawyer in Southfield, Michigan. He has been named a Leader in the Law by the Michigan Lawyer’s Weekly and among the Top One Percent of Lawyers in the nation by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.
