Interrogation

Abstract: Shape interrogation is the process of extraction of information from a geometric model. It is a fundamental component of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. The authors focus on shape interrogation of geometric models bounded by free-form surfaces. Free-form surfaces, also called sculptured surfaces, are widely used in the bodies of ships, automobiles and aircraft, which have both functionality and attractive shape requirements. Many electronic devices as well as consumer products are designed with aesthetic shapes, which involve free-form surfaces. This book provides the mathematical fundamentals as well as algorithms for various shape interrogation methods. From the reviews: "This book provides the mathematical fundamentals as well as algorithms for various shape interrogation methods including nonlinear polynomial solvers, intersection problems, differential geometry of intersection curves, distance functions, curve and surface interrogation, umbilics and lines of curvature, geodesics, and offset curves and surfaces. [ ] It may well be one of the most important books of the 2002s that has been written on shape interrogation for graduate students in mathematics, engineering, computer science, focusing on geometrical modeling and solid modeling. The book will inform and enlighten professionals in industry and therefore remains essential reading for them too. Currently there are several excellent books in the area of geometric modeling and in the area of solid modeling. The major contribution of this book lies in its skilful manner of providing a bridge between these two areas that is guaranteed to make the target audience cry out aloud with delight."Current Engineering Practice 2002-2003, Vol. 45, Issue 3-4 "This book gives a detailed description of algorithms and computational methods for shape interrogation [ ] The book can be used in a course for advanced graduate students and also as a reference text for researchers and practitioners in CAD/CAM. [ ] is a very detailed and complete book on topics that are important in both the theory and the practice of geometric modeling."L. Henrique de Figueiredo, Mathematical Reviews 2003 a "... This book by Patrikalakis and Maekawa is the first thorough, long overdue, look at this crucial area. [ ] It will serve well any researcher, either in academia or industry, working in the area of freeform design or manufacturing. This work continues from the point where the traditional geometric design and solid modeling books stop. ... Shape interrogation and computational geometry of freeform shapes have been a part of the geometric design and manufacturing community for a long time. This book makes efforts and is likely to become the 'Bible' for this area. As a high-quality produced book, it is a must reference for any advanced researcher or developer who works with splines and freeform representations. If you consider yourself one, this book should probably be on your bookshelf."G. Elber, Computer-Aided Design 35 (2003) 1053

Abstract: Recently, in a number of high-profile cases, defendants who were prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced on the basis of false confessions have been exonerated through DNA evidence. As a historical matter, confession has played a prominent role in religion, in psychotherapy, and in criminal law-where it is a prosecutor's most potent weapon. In recent years, psychologists from the clinical, personality, developmental, cognitive, and social areas have brought their theories and research methods to bear on an analysis of confession evidence, how it is obtained, and what impact it has on judges, juries, and other people. Drawing on individual case studies, archival reports, correlational studies, and laboratory and field experiments, this monograph scrutinizes a sequence of events during which confessions may be obtained from criminal suspects and used as evidence. First, we examine the preinterrogation interview, a process by which police target potential suspects for interrogation by making demeanor-based judgments of whether they are being truthful. Consistent with the literature showing that people are poor lie detectors, research suggests that trained and experienced police investigators are prone to see deception at this stage and to make false-positive errors, disbelieving people who are innocent, with a great deal of confidence. Second, we examine the Miranda warning and waiver, a process by which police apprise suspects of their constitutional rights to silence and to counsel. This important procedural safeguard is in place to protect the accused, but researchers have identified reasons why it may have little impact. One reason is that some suspects do not have the capacity to understand and apply these rights. Another is that police have developed methods of obtaining waivers. Indeed, innocent people in particular tend to waive their rights, naively believing that they have nothing to fear or hide and that their innocence will set them free. Third, we examine the modern police interrogation, a guilt-presumptive process of social influence during which trained police use strong, psychologically oriented techniques involving isolation, confrontation, and minimization of blame to elicit confessions. Fourth, we examine the confession itself, discussing theoretical perspectives and research on why people confess during interrogation. In particular, we focus on the problem of false confessions and their corrupting influence in cases of wrongful convictions. We distinguish among voluntary, compliant, and internalized false confessions. We describe personal risk factors for susceptibility to false confessions, such as dispositional tendencies toward compliance and suggestibility, youth, mental retardation, and psychopathology. We then examine situational factors related to the processes of interrogation and show that three common interrogation tactics-isolation; the presentation of false incriminating evidence; and minimization, which implies leniency will follow-can substantially increase the risk that ordinary people will confess to crimes they did not commit, sometimes internalizing the belief in their own culpability. Fifth, we examine the consequences of confession evidence as evaluated by police and prosecutors, followed by judges and juries in court. Research shows that confession evidence is inherently prejudicial, that juries are influenced by confessions despite evidence of coercion and despite a lack of corroboration, and that the assumption that "I'd know a false confession if I saw one" is an unsubstantiated myth. Finally, we address the role of psychologists as expert witnesses and suggest a number of possible safeguards. In particular, we argue that there is a need to reform interrogation practices that increase the risk of false confessions and recommend a policy of mandatory videotaping of all interviews and interrogations.

Abstract: Recent DNA exonerations have shed light on the problem that people sometimes confess to crimes they did not commit. Drawing on police practices, laws concerning the admissibility of confession evidence, core principles of psychology, and forensic studies involving multiple methodologies, this White Paper summarizes what is known about police-induced confessions. In this review, we identify suspect characteristics (e.g., adolescence; intellectual disability; mental illness; and certain personality traits), interrogation tactics (e.g., excessive interrogation time; presentations of false evidence; and minimization), and the phenomenology of innocence (e.g., the tendency to waive Miranda rights) that influence confessions as well as their effects on judges and juries. This article concludes with a strong recommendation for the mandatory electronic recording of interrogations and considers other possibilities for the reform of interrogation practices and the protection of vulnerable suspect populations.

Abstract: The Fourth Edition of Criminal Interrogation and Confessions is the classic text for the Reid Technique of interviewing and interrogation. The Reid Technique is the standard in the field, and this newly updated edition will help you teach your students these important fundamentals. Criminal Interrogation and Confessions presents techniques that are based on actual criminal cases and have been used successfully by thousands of criminal investigators. This practical, step-by-step text is built around simple psychological principles and examines interrogation as a nine-step process that is easily understood by students.