
Analysing Police Interviews
Laughter, Confessions and the Tape
Elisabeth Carter(Author)
Bloomsbury Academic (Publisher)
Published on 28. March 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
216 pages
978-0-567-12909-3 (ISBN)
Description
Winner of the British Society of Criminology 'Criminology Book Prize 2012'
This book uses transcripts from real UK police interviews, investigating previously unexplored and under-explored areas of the process. It illustrates the way in which police and suspects use language and sounds to inform, persuade and communicate with each other. It also looks closely at how interactional tools such as laughter can be used to sidestep the legal boundaries of this setting without sanction.
The work reveals the delicate balance between institutional and conversational talk, the composition and maintenance of roles and the conflicts between the rules of interaction and law. The analyses offer detailed insights into the reality behind the myth and mystique of police interviews and contain findings which have the potential to inform and advance evidence-based police interview training and practice.
This book uses transcripts from real UK police interviews, investigating previously unexplored and under-explored areas of the process. It illustrates the way in which police and suspects use language and sounds to inform, persuade and communicate with each other. It also looks closely at how interactional tools such as laughter can be used to sidestep the legal boundaries of this setting without sanction.
The work reveals the delicate balance between institutional and conversational talk, the composition and maintenance of roles and the conflicts between the rules of interaction and law. The analyses offer detailed insights into the reality behind the myth and mystique of police interviews and contain findings which have the potential to inform and advance evidence-based police interview training and practice.
Reviews / Votes
[Analysing Police Interviews] offers detailed insights into the reality behind the myth and mystique of police interviews, providing empirical evidence that may inform and advance police interview training and practice. * The Year's Work in English Studies * Stimulating, rigorous and insightful. As well as revealing the inner workings of the police interview - a mainstay of everyday law enforcement - Analyzing Police Interviews is often entertaining and the real life examples at its heart provide a unique glimpse into the workings of this central element of the police toolkit. -- Nigel Fielding, Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean (Research), University of Surrey, UKMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
339 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-567-12909-3 (9780567129093)
DOI
CBID180139
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
09/2011
1st Edition
Continuum Publishing Corporation
€46.49
Available for download

E-Book
09/2011
1st Edition
Bloomsbury Continuum
€46.49
Available for download
Person
Elisabeth Carter is Visiting Fellow in the Department of Sociology, University of Essex, UK.
Content
List of figures \ List of extracts \ 1.Overview \ 2. An introduction to police interview research, policing and recorded evidence \ 3. An introduction to conversation analysis; history and practice \ Part 1: Laughter \ 4. Buttressing innocence and challenging the officer: suspect laughter in the interview \ 5. Officer laughter: challenging the suspect and breaking the rules \ Conclusion to Part 1\ Part 2: The silent participant \ 6. The silent participant: Institutional constraints, semantic and legal redundancy \ 7. The silent participant: Uninitiated third turns \ Conclusion to Part 2 \ Part 3: Confessions \ 8. Confessions: Knowledge claims \ 9. Confessions: Minimisation \ Conclusion to Part 3 \ Chapter 10. Conclusion \ Appendix I. Transcription convention glossary \ Appendix II. Additional transcript excerpts \ Appendix III. Glossary of technical terms \ Appendix IV. Extract from The Bill script \ References \ Notes \ Index