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This video is directed at police officers but would be of interest to any person involved in the justice system. Specifically, it looks at the heightened risks for suspects to falsely confess when using the Reid interrogation technique, the impact of over-policing on marginalized and vulnerable communities, the role that language, racial bias, and differences in cultural beliefs play in Indigenous peoples being wrongly convicted, and examines some of the susceptibilities that those with mental health issues face in an interrogation room.

Watch Preventing False Confessions from Vulnerable Suspects.

Innocence Canada thanks the Ontario Bar Association and the Law Foundation of Ontario for their support and the following individuals for their expertise:

Professor Kent Roach
Kent Roach is Professor of Law and Prichard-Wilson Chair of Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and of Yale, and a former law clerk to Justice Bertha Wilson of the Supreme Court of Canada. Prof Roach has served as research director for the Goudge Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Patholology and for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182. In both capacities, he edited multiple volumes of research studies. He served on the research advisory committee for the inquiry into the rendition of Maher Arar and the Ipperwash Inquiry into the killing of Dudley George. He also served as volume lead for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report on the Legacy of Residential Schools. He has been a member of Canadian Council of Academies expert panels on policing and subsequently on Indigenous policing.

Dr. Tim Moore
Dr. Tim Moore is Professor of Psychology and chair of the Psychology Department at York University’s Glendon College where he teaches Psychology & Law. Dr. Moore has served as a consultant or expert witness in dozens of criminal trials in both Canada and the U.S. on issues related to memory, language comprehension, child witnesses, suggestibility, police investigative practices and interrogations. Dr. Moore is a regular participant in various legal educational programs, including the Criminal Lawyers Association, the Ontario Bar Association, Osgoode’s Professional Development series and the National Judicial Institute.

Robert S. Wright
Robert S. Wright is a Social Worker and Sociologist whose 28 year career has spanned the fields of education, child welfare, forensic mental health, trauma, sexual violence, and cultural competence. He has always integrated his work delivering direct practice clinical service to clients with teaching and supervising interns and promoting lasting systemic change through social policy advocacy.

Robert holds BA and MA degrees in social work and has post-graduate training in social work and sociology. He has served in notable roles as the Race Relations Coordinator of the former Dartmouth District School Board, Executive Director of Family & Children’s Services of Cumberland County, and the Executive Director of Nova Scotia’s Child and Youth Strategy.

Robert also serves as the Executive Director of The Peoples’ Counselling Clinic which provides no and low cost counselling and case management services to low income individuals and special populations. Through the Peoples’ Clinic, Robert conducts ManTalk, a treatment/support group for male victims of sexual violence, and other programmes for special populations.

Dr. Lorna Fadden
Dr. Fadden’s research is in the area of language and law, especially forensic discourse analysis. She has held Senior Lecturer and Assistant Professor positions in the Department of Linguistics at Simon Fraser University, where she was also the First Nations Languages Coordinator. She is a steering committee member of the West Coast Roundtable on Language and Law, and she has run a forensic consulting practice since 2008, carrying out linguistic analyses for legal counsel in civil and criminal proceedings. Lorna has received her JD from Thompson Rivers University.

Dr. Voula Marinos
Dr. Voula Marinos is an Associate Professor and holds a Ph.D in Criminology from the Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto. Her interdisciplinary research is currently focused on three primary areas: diversion of youth and adults from the formal court process; mental health, intellectual disabilities, law and the courts; and plea bargaining and sentencing of youth and adults.

She is a Member of the Canadian Centre for Lifespan Research at Brock University. She was part of the 3Rs Rights, Respect and Responsibility Research Team at Brock, committed to research on human rights for persons with intellectual disabilities. Much of her work involves interviews with criminal justice professionals and court observations. She lectures widely to criminal justice professionals, law students, and community-based organizations about her research and criminal justice policy.

Jordan Rapps, Videographer