The interviewing and interrogation of suspects is important to securing convictions against the guilty and freeing the wrongly accused. There are two general methods of questioning suspects: information gathering and accusatorial. The information-gathering approach, used in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, and elsewhere, is characterized by rapport building, truth seeking, and listening. The accusatorial approach, used primarily in the United States and Canada, is characterized by accusation, confrontation, psychological manipulation, and the disallowing of denials. Academics and practitioners hotly debate which method is more effective, particularly in light of increased awareness of the problems with false confessions. Two separate but related meta-analyses were conducted to address this question.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/christian_meissner/73/