Citation

Holmberg U, Christianson SA. Behav. Sci. Law 2002; 20(1-2): 31-45.

Affiliation

Department of Behavioural Sciences, Kristianstad University, SE 291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden. Ulf.Holmberg@bet.hkr.se

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.470

PMID

11979490

Abstract

This research concerns murderers' and sexual offenders' experiences of Swedish police interviews and their attitudes towards allegations of these serious crimes. The explorative study is based on a questionnaire answered by 83 men convicted of murder or sexual offences. Results show that when police officers interview murderers and sexual offenders, the individuals perceive attitudes that are characterized by either dominance or humanity. Logistic regression shows that police interviews marked by dominance are mainly associated with a higher proportion of denials, whereas an approach marked by humanity is associated with admissions. When suspects feel that they are respected and acknowledged, they probably gain more confidence and mental space, allowing them to admit criminal behaviour.

Language: en