RT Article
T1 Beyond Common Sense and Human Experience: Lay Perceptions of Witness Coercion
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 47
IS 2
SP 208
OP 221
A1 Fallon, Laura
A1 Snook, Brent
A2 Snook, Brent
LA English
YR 2020
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1767162030
AB Perceptions of the use of coercive tactics in witness interviews were examined. Canadian community members (N = 293) were asked to read a transcript of a witness interview that included either (a) threats/overt coercion, (b) minimization/covert coercion, or (c) no coercion, and answer questions about the interview. Participants rated the threat transcript as being the most coercive, containing the most pressure, involving the most serious consequences for withholding information, and eliciting the most negative feelings from witnesses. Conversely, the minimization transcript tended to be rated less negatively than the threat transcript and was also rated as being the most effective for gathering information. Results indicate that laypeople recognize the issues with explicitly coercive police tactics, but are less clear on the problems with subtler forms of coercion. The implications for the truth-seeking function of the justice system and the role of expert testimony in the courtroom are discussed.
K1 Coercion
K1 Interview
K1 Juror
K1 Justice System
K1 layperson
K1 Police
K1 Witness
DO 10.1177/0093854819892654