ALCOHOL AND DRUG INTOXICATION DURING POLICE INTERROGATION AND THE REASONS WHY SUSPECTS CONFESS TO THE POLICE

This study investigates the effects of alcohol, drug intoxication and withdrawal symptoms on the mental state of criminal suspects and the n ature of their confession. A total of 359 sentenced prisoners were app roached on admission and 96% agreed to participate in the study. They completed a specially designed Confession Questionnaire, which asked t hem questions about their reasons for confessing to the police, their attitude towards their confession, their mental state at the time of t he confession and the extent to which they had been under the influenc e of alcohol and drug intoxication at the time of crime and police int erview. The confession rate for the sample was very high (92%), with s erious traffic violators having the highest confession rate (95%) and sex offenders the lowest (83%). The findings illustrate that the ''per ception of proof'', ''internal need to confess'' and ''external pressu re'' are the main reasons why suspects confess. However, subjects were identified who had experienced a typical ''prisoner's dilemma'' pheno menon during the police interview because of a co-defendant. Alcohol a nd drug intoxication was very commonly reported both at the time of th e offence and the police interview, but these were related to the natu re of their offence. Although intoxication and withdrawal symptoms did not appear to seriously impair their coping during the police intervi ew it was consistently reported as having made them confused.