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The process of criminal investigation involves two semi-dependent objectives: finding the offender and proving their guilt (Rossmo, 2004). Establishing guilt can be accomplished in one of three ways: (1) a witness; (2) physical evidence; or (3) a confession (Klockars & Mastrofski, 1991). Research demonstrates that a confession is essential in 24 to 30% of cases in order to prove the guilt of a suspect (Baldwind & McConville, 1980; Cassell, 1996; Stephenson & Moston, 1994). According to Kassin and Neumann (1997), the confession has a greater impact on the decision of a jury as opposed to witnesses or hard physical evidence. This shows that police interrogation is crucial to the criminal investigation in order to solve crimes, especially sex crimes for which a confession is often the principal, if not the only, proof of guilt (St-Yves, 2002). Very few studies have looked specifically at the confession of sex offenders. Furthermore, most of these studies have looked at individual factors, neglecting to consider possible interaction effects. Deslauriers-Varin (2006) suggested that such interactions between factors related to the confession might partially explain the conflicting results observed in the literature. Thus, the aim of the current study is to investigate the different factors related to the decision to confess or not during the police interrogation. A classification tree approach was carried out on a sample of 624 sex offenders incarcerated for a sentence of two years or more in a Canadian penitentiary. Results show that different factors of offender characteristics, victimology, situation, and crime characteristics are related to the decision to confess or not during the police interrogation. Moreover, the classification tree analyses uncovered interaction effects among some of these factors. Results will be discussed in light of the interrogation strategies specific to sex offenders. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its very beginnings, the study of hostage and barricade incidents has itself been hostage to an intuitive and empirically fragmentary conceptual framework. This has not only limited innovative thought and the development of new ideas, but also handicapped police decision-making. In fact, the predictive abilities of law enforcement personnel managing crisis situations have been impaired by: 1) the absence of a formal, integrated vision of the factors that contribute to the conceptualization of these events; and 2) the current exclusive reliance on the experience, judgment and intuition of practitioners working in the field. This lack of decision-making guidance is particularly problematic in the dynamic context of hostage and barricade incidents, which are characterized by a high risk of violence, high-stakes outcomes, time pressure and limited information.This study examines 534 hostage and barricade incidents that occurred in Quebec between 1990 and 2004 and were managed by the Sûreté du Québec's specialized intervention structure. Its objective is to present an integrated and formalized vision of the elements underlying current conceptualizations of crisis situations, in order to optimize decision-making. To this end, logistic regression and recursive partitioning models are presented and compared. Twelve distinct individual and situational static factors are used to predict the perpetrator's recourse to autoaggressive behaviours (those directed against oneself) and heteroaggressive behaviours (those directed against others) during this type of incident. Results identify several valuable predictors that are readily observable and promptly assessable at the outset of a crisis situation. The study's main results will be discussed in light of their practical relevance for decision-makers working in the field. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined 534 hostage and barricade situations that occurred in Quebec between 1990 and 2004 and were managed by the Sûreté du Québec's specialized intervention structure. Its objective was to present, using a rigorous methodology that avoids most of the methodological biases of previous study, a comprehensive description of crisis situations occurring in Quebec. Detailed descriptive statistics are presented on: 1) characteristics of individuals in crisis; 2) characteristics of crisis events; 3) weapons used, 4) characteristics of hostages; 5) characteristics of negotiations, 6) level of violence reached during the crisis incident; 7) resolution of the event. Finally, the features of the situations that are specific to Quebec are discussed, by comparing our results with those of a few empirical studies. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examined 534 hostage and barricade situations that occurred in Quebec between 1990 and 2004 and were managed by the Sûreté du Québec's specialized intervention structure. Its objective was to present an integrated and formalized vision of the elements underlying current conceptions of crisis situations, in order to optimize decision-making. To thus end, five logistic regression models and five recursive partitioning models were presented and compared. Eighteen distinct static and dynamic individual and situational factors were used to predict various outputs during this type of incident. The analyses indicate that is it possible not only to predict the outcome of crisis situations, but to do so effectively. Several valuable predictors were identified, each with its own predictive power and specific contribution to the overall understanding of this type of event. The theoretical and practical relevance of the predictive models, as well as the study's main results, are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offenders' confessions play a crucial role in police investigations considering that it is often the only incriminating evidence. Yet, few studies have described the factors influencing the offenders' decision to confess a crime and those having been conducted have shown contradictory results. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to explore the determinants of the offenders' decision to confess their crime during police interrogation. A total of 204 adult males (93 confessors, 111 deniers) incarcerated in a Canadian penitentiary were recruited. Data were collected using police records, correctional files and self-reports. Using logistic regression analyses, four types of factors were measured: (a) crime type (i.e., nature and seriousness); (b) offenders' perceptions of police evidence; (c) feelings of guilt and remorse; (d) context of the interrogation (i.e., length of interrogation, use of a legal advice), while controlling for individual factors (i.e., age, ethnic origin, educational achievements, marital status, the number of prior criminal records, and social desirability). Results of the logistic regression show that five factors could predict the confession of a suspect during the interrogation: ethnic origin, feelings of guilt and remorse, seriousness of the offence, not resorting to a legal advice, and the offenders' perceptions of police evidence, which was the strongest predictor. Results will be discussed in light of previous empirical findings and will underline the role of situational/contextual factors on the offender's decision to confess a crime. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Confessions made by offenders play a crucial role in police investigations considering that it is often the only incriminating evidence against a guilty suspect (Baldwin & McConville, 1980; Stephenson & Moston, 1994). Yet, few studies have described the role of situational factors in the offenders decision to confess a crime (St-Yves, 2004). Furthermore, these studies have shown contradictory results. Therefore, the purpose of the present research was to explore the role of situational factors on the offenders decision to confess a crime. A total of 123 adult males (55 confessors, 68 deniers) incarcerated in a Canadian penitentiary were recruited. All participants signed a consent form stating that the information provided would be confidential. Data were collected using police records, correctional files and self-reports (Gudjonsson & Sigurdsson, 1999; Crowne & Marlow, 1960). Four types of situational factors were measured: (a) offence type; (b) offenders perceptions of police evidence and external pressure to confess; (c) feelings of guilt and remorse; (d) context of the interrogation (i.e., length of interrogation, use of a legal advice). Logistic regression analyses were carried out to investigate which situational factors best explained the decision to confess a crime, while controlling for individual factors (i.e., age, ethnic origin, educational achievements, marital status, prior criminal records, social desirability). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]