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im currently reading the Original book on detective interrogation techniques (1st edition of Inbau + Reid’s 1967 text) and it’s wild how much of modern TV dramas are drawn from it
they invented the two-way mirror, the good cop/bad cop, the sit close and stare
one thing that really sticks out to me is their suggestion to, in the case of sex crimes or assault against women, blame the victim as a method of lessening the guilt burden of the confessor
“she was asking for it with that short skirt, wouldnt you say fred” “she deserved it for talking back, for making you feel weak, you couldnt have that”
so much of what they “invented” became the fabric of what we think of for the process of justice — i cant help but wonder if this tactic of victim-blaming also ate its way into our national consciousness
men who were told these things and confessed went to jail blaming the women they beat or abused. they didnt stay in jail forever. they surely didn’t stop thinking about that line that lessened the weight of their crime
it’s not hard to imagine that thinking, that *counseling* worming its way out into the discourse around assault
into even the psychology of the cops who *themselves* who recited these lines to the men at their confession chambers
confession is a religious act, a leap of faith. the officer running the confession deeply shapes the way the confessee learns to process, to confront their own behavior
and the textbook, the standard, for how to conduct these things said “blame the victim”
it’s my understanding that the rates of partner abuse is quite high in the police force — it’s not a huge leap to conclude that this “victim blaming” deeply impacted the ideology and actions of the very people wielding it
im not sure what the newer editions of the book advise
but maybe it’s past time to revisit the things we tell humans on the verge of confession