Umeå universitets logga

This essay is the result of a study of the strategies that investigators/interrogators at the Police's felony department use in interrogations with suspects who use their statutory right not to have to make a statement or participate in an investigation about their own guilt.

The questions that the study was based on are, what strategies do criminal investigators use when questioning people who use their right not to speak during interrogation? What importance does the interrogator feel the defense attorney has in the interrogation room? How does the interrogator experience the silence from the suspect?

It is a qualitative study, where the material was collected through interviews with five investigators/interrogators, four police officers and one civilian investigator, with five to thirteen years of experience as an investigator at the Police Agency's Serious Crimes departments, in various locations in Bergslagen and the Stockholm area. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed in thematic analysis, where the study's questions guided the coding of the material.

The theoretical frame of reference contains Lipsky's theory of Street-Level Bureaucrats, Asplund's concept of social responsibility, Goffman's dramaturgical perspective and Foucault's theory of power and resistance.

 In the thematic analysis, two main categories emerge in the interrogators' strategies, questioning strategies, and contact-making strategies. With subcategories informative/information gathering, neutral/objective, professional and flexible/empathic, interested. As an interrogator, you continue to ask your planned questions even though the suspect does not answer them. Emphasis is placed on being clear and informing the suspect in an objective and professional manner about their statutory rights, they also want to ensure that the information is comprehensible and that the suspect understands. Continuing to ask questions is also seen to inform the suspect and defense attorney about what information is available in the investigation. They try to establish some form of contact with the suspect to get him/her to answer questions, but also have an understanding and awareness of the risk of speaking in interrogation.