JUSTICE · JOINING UNIQUE STRATEGIES TOGETHER FOR INTERROGATIVE COERCION ELIMINATION

Coercive and abusive interrogation practices (psychological pressure, intimidation, physical force, denying legal rights, harsh detention conditions) are commonly used worldwide in police custody and other paralegal settings. These practices lead to false confessions, unfair prosecutions, and miscarriages of justice, as well as inflicting trauma in those being interrogated. Efforts to eradicate these abhorrent practices have failed to date.We hypothesise that both people and systems perpetuate coercive and abusive practices, and a radical, integrative cognitive applied science research initiative is needed to overcome these persistent and damaging practices. Our first-of-its-kind project, JUSTICE (JOINING UNIQUE STRATEGIES TOGETHER FOR INTERROGATIVE COERCION ELIMINATION), will discover why coercive and abusive practices happen and ways to eradicate them. JUSTICE will explore how policies, practices, and laws enable or prevent coercive and abusive practices, as well as the underlying reasons for the adoption or rejection of such practices.JUSTICE will explore why people carry out coercive interrogations, and their impact on interviewees and justice systems. We will develop evidence-based strategies to move towards more humane interrogations, thereby supporting the UN’s universal ‘Mendez Principles’ (2021) on interviewing and legal safeguards. JUSTICE embraces cross-disciplinary research integrating law, policing studies, applied investigative psychology, cognitive neuroscience and advances in data analytics, machine learning and large language models. We will use innovative methodologies and approaches to explore how individuals make decisions to uphold or reject coercive and abusive practices in the context of legal, social, and ethical norms and structures.JUSTICE will provide the global benchmark for eradicating coercive and abusive interviewing practices, leading to a fundamental and enduring positive impact on justice systems and human rights worldwide.