Abstract:
One of the goals of the police interrogation is to produce a record that reflects what
was talked about during the interrogation, as much as possible in the words of the
suspect. At the same time, it appears the institution does not allow the suspect to
participate in reaching this goal. Therefore, the police interrogation setting is not
only potentially contradictory for the suspect, but also for the police officer. Each
service provided by police officers requires the execution of a critical document.
However, police reports are often viewed as of low quality. If a report is badly
prepared, it may jeopardize the investigation and, as a result, the officer's
credibility. Unlike ordinary conversations, the structure of discourse between the
police and complainants or suspects or witnesses differs. This study aimed at
ascertaining the questioning strategies in police interrogations at the Central
Regional Police Command, Cape Coast. Rooted in qualitative research design, the
study was based on 10 police interrogation transcripts obtained from the Police
Headquarters in Cape Coast. The study was hinged on the theory of critical
discourse analysis (CDA). A multi-method data analysis, which involved the
application of Conversational Analysis, and CDA were employed in this study. The
findings revealed that interrogation of suspects is viewed, inside and outside police
circles, as being at the heart of the police role. The study also revealed that the
police used elicitation as a linguistic act form to secure information from the
accused person and the latter in turn used reply/informative linguistic act to supply
the information requested throughout the interrogation. It was recommended that
A discourse-based training programme could be devised to help police officers
effectively interview suspects since most of the interviewing/interrogation skills are
borne out of the Police Manual. The study also recommended that the police should
roll out a statutory requirement for video recorded evidence-in-chief.
