Kids, cops, and confessions

Juveniles possess less maturity, intelligence, and competence than adults, which heightens their vulnerability in the justice system. For this reason, states try juveniles in separate courts and use different sentencing standards than for adults. Yet, when police bring kids in for questioning, they use the same tactics they use for adults to elicit confessions or to produce incriminating evidence against them. In KIDS, COPS, AND CONFESSIONS, Barry Feld offers the first report of what actually happens when police question juveniles. Analyzing interrogation tapes and transcripts, police reports, juvenile court filings, and probation and sentencing reports, Feld describes in rich detail what actually happens in the interrogation room. Feld covers both police strategies and juvenile offenders’ responses, examining topics such as where and when police questioning occurs, juveniles’ attitudes in the interrogation room, and how often police obtain confessions, admissions, or other evidence. He argues that certain factors, like the length of interrogations or the decision to waive or invoke Miranda, significantly affect case outcomes. The book concludes with a comparison between routine felony interrogations with those that elicited false confessions. An invaluable and unprecedented study, KIDS, COPS, AND CONFESSIONS, provides police, lawyers, judges, and legislators with the information they need to adopt policies to protect citizens, and ultimately to assure reliability and integrity in the juvenile justice system. BOOK JACKET.