False confessions are more common than we would like to think. Current statistics show that 29% of wrongful convictions are due to false confessions. False confessions can be due to mental impairment, juvenile interrogation, improper interrogation methods, psychological factors, a misunderstanding of the law, and other factors.
As police officers, detectives, investigators, and interrogators, knowing how to properly conduct an interrogation is paramount to finding the right party guilty of the crime. The job is to help prevent false confessions, protect the innocent, and determine the truth to find who is at fault.
Law-Tech Consultants helps law enforcement and other professionals prevent false confessions through investigative interviewing techniques and ethical interrogation methods. Detecting deception is all about identifying cues, physical or verbal tell-tale signs associated with lies, and knowing what to ask next to get the right information.
Learn why preventing false confessions is so important and how you, and your organization, can better identify the truth and deception during interviews.
Ready to continue your law enforcement training? Ask about our free B.E.A.S.T.© Elicitation webinars, where you learn both Forensic Behavioral Analysis (FBA) and Forensic Statement Analysis (FSA), which is different from handwriting analysis.
The Dangers of False Confessions
False confessions obstruct justice, leave criminals at large, and punish innocent citizens for crimes they did not commit. False confessions also ruin the reputations of police officers and other organizations responsible for protecting the community, harming the trust between the police and citizens. This ripple effect makes it harder for police to do their jobs, causing more stress in an already dangerous position.
When false confessions are not detected, innocent people may face decades in prison or even the death penalty, lives are upended, and more crimes are committed by the guilty party who walks free. Avoid the risks of false confessions:
- Wrongful convictions, leading to jail time, fines, or even the death penalty for innocent citizens
- Increased crime, when the guilty party walks free without consequences or detection
- Quality of life will suffer for the charged individual with loss of employment, criminal records, family issues, and more
- Mental health will be severely affected, including anxiety, trauma, and shame that may persist for years
- Civil Liability may include fines, legal action, and other lawsuits to compensate for the damages
Types of False Confessions
False confessions can only be prevented if officers and interrogators understand the types of false confessions and what to look for. Detecting deception includes an awareness and knowledge of false confessions, why they happen, and how to categorize them.
Voluntary False Confessions
A voluntary false confession occurs without any external pressure from the police, media, or other sources. Voluntary false confessions are a choice, given to protect the guilty party, gain fame or attention, or due to mental illness and an inability to understand reality. For example, John Mark Karr confessed to the killing of JonBenet Ramsey, but his DNA did not match the evidence, so he was never charged.
Coerced-Compliant False Confessions
Coerced-compliant false confessions occur when a person knows they are innocent but wishes to escape a stressful situation, such as a prolonged or intimidating interrogation. They may also confess out of exhaustion or fear due to similar circumstances. Coerced-compliant false concessions have also been found when an individual wishes to claim a benefit or promise, like reduced charges or leniency.
Coerced-Internalized False Confessions
The most complex false confessions, coerced-internalized false confessions, happen when the individual comes to believe they have committed the crime, even without any memory of doing so. This can occur due to mental illness, drug use, manipulation tactics, suggestive questioning, intense pressure, false evidence, a combination of stress, exhaustion, and confusion, or they are accused of having repressed memories of the incident.
Causes of False Confessions
“Why would someone confess to a crime they didn’t commit?”
Many law enforcement officials, lawyers, and other legal professionals still struggle to understand why an individual would provide a false confession. Once a confession is given, all investigation normally ceases. Understanding why someone would give a false confession helps everyone involved in the case evaluate the circumstances to ensure they are charging the guilty party.
Rational Choice Theory
Rational choice theory argues that, in the case of coerced-compliant or coerced internalized false confessions, the interrogated party believes that confessing is the most rational choice. They do so to end stressful interrogations or avoid threats of harm or other severe consequences. The person believes they are getting the most leniency by offering a confession, especially if there are mentions of fake evidence, or they believe they can later convince the interrogator of their innocence.
Psychological Factors
Many psychological factors contribute to false confessions. Stress, exhaustion, fear, and confusion can all cause an individual to give a false confession. Individuals with pre-existing mental health issues, like anxiety or trauma, may be more inclined to offer a false confession if they are experiencing increased psychological stress during the interrogation. Age, health, substance abuse, and other factors may also contribute to false confessions, combined with psychological factors.
Interrogation Methods
Police, interviewers, and interrogators all must be careful with their interrogation methods. Law-Tech Consultants specifically shares elicitation methods that lead to voluntary, honest, court-accepted confessions, using ethical practices. The misuse of deception, accusations, false evidence, threats, withholding, and promises of leniency can all lead to increased false confessions.
Long hours of questioning, lack of proper food and water, and not meeting physical needs can increase stress and obstruct questioning that would otherwise lead to helpful and honest answers. Interrogators must also be careful not to disclose confidential details that only the guilty party would know; if the individual being questioned picks up on this information, it is easier to believe their false confession.
Legal Understanding
Some individuals do not have a clear understanding of the law, leading to false confessions. Lack of legal representation is the primary cause of false confessions, especially in vulnerable members of society. False confessions may also be given if an individual does not understand the consequences of a confession or their inability to amend their statements.
Vulnerable Individuals
Mental health disabilities, juveniles, and select other persons might be considered vulnerable individuals. These are people who are more likely to be persuaded, coerced, or who do not understand the consequences of a false confession.
Preventing False Confessions
Investigative interviewing techniques, detecting deception education, and ethical interrogation methods can all help reduce and prevent false confessions. Law-Tech Consultants offers in-person training and webinars focused on detecting deception and investigative interviewing techniques through FBA and FSA. These techniques help officers and investigators to reliably identify signs of truth and deception, while tailoring their questioning to obtain honest answers and court-accepted information and confessions.
False confessions can be prevented through various methods, all of which organizations and departments should strive to implement to improve their ability to deliver justice and serve their communities.
- Continued Law Enforcement Training, to aid officers and investigators in their interviews/interrogations, especially in stressful or high-profile cases
- Investigate Interviewing Techniques that help organizations and interviewers ask questions without accusations or leading an individual
- Reduced Interrogation Times to reduce stress on individuals
- Mental Health Awareness and the effects of stress, exhaustion, and fatigue on parties being questioned
- Vulnerable Individual Tactics that consider their diminished capacity of understanding
- Follow-Up Corroborations and DNA Testing to ensure the confession matches the details of the crime
- Record Interviews and Interrogations for later review and examination
- Have the person prove their guilt by providing a fact(s) that only the guilty person would know (i.e. where the knife is located etc.)
Prevent False Confessions with B.E.A.S.T.© from Law-Tech Consultants
Law-Tech Consultants is focused on helping police officers, detectives, professional investigators, and corporate investigators prevent false confessions. The use of investigative interviewing and elicitation methods help authority figures better tailor their questioning, examine answers, and understand persons of interest, to identify truth and deception.
We have offered continued law enforcement training, corporate classes, and more since 1998. Led by 25-year veteran of the Maryland State Police, Gary Aschenbach Sr., and Special Agent Gary Aschenbach Jr., we have over 72 years of combined experience in non-confrontational elicitation methods.
Law-Tech offers many elicitation techniques, including our rebranded and unmatched B.E.A.S.T.© Elicitation webinar. A titan in the industry, we’ve stood apart from the rest for 28 years as we’ve provided the first and only training on the market that shares both Forensic Behavioral Analysis and Forensic Statement Analysis in one class.
Move forward with confidence and detect the truth in any situation. Preventing false confessions starts with you. Make detecting truth and deception your priority in any interview or investigation.
Check out our schedule to find a training near you or contact us to sponsor your own training, oftentimes free of charge. The methods we teach can be applied immediately and will make all the difference in your approach.
B.E.A.S.T.©: Elicitation Training For Law Enforcement. Trusted since 1998.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How common are false confessions?
A false confession occurs when an individual admits to a crime they did not commit. 29% of wrongful convictions are linked to false confessions, as of data collected to date in 2025.
What are the main types of false confessions investigators should be aware of?
The three main types of false confessions are voluntary false confessions, in which an individual chooses to protect someone or wishes to gain attention; coerced-compliant false confessions, in which an individual confesses to avoid any more interrogations, threats, or due to promises of leniency; and coerced-internalized false confessions, in which a person becomes convinced they committed the crime.
Why are false confessions dangerous to the justice system and the community?
False confessions can lead to wrongful convictions, allow the true offender to remain free, damage public trust in law enforcement, harm officers’ reputations, and cause severe long-term consequences for innocent individuals, including imprisonment and mental health trauma.
What factors commonly cause individuals to give false confessions?
False confessions may be given due to psychological stress, exhaustion, fear, improper interrogation methods, lack of legal understanding, rational choice under pressure, mental health conditions, juvenile status, or being part of a vulnerable population.
How does Law-Tech Consultants’ Law Enforcement Training help prevent false confessions?
Law-Tech Consultants provides training to identify truth and deception using both Forensic Behavioral Analysis and Forensic Statement Analysis. Our B.E.A.S.T.© Elicitation webinars and in-person trainings focus on ethical interrogation methods and real-time skills to help investigators elicit voluntary, court-accepted confessions, and prevent false confessions.
