Societal collaboration as a mean to bridge the knowledge gap between academia and the legal system: An important action for greater legal certainty in Sweden.
Police, judges and other legal practitioners comes in contact with many intoxicated victims of crime, witnesses and suspects. The Swedish Police Authority does not have policy guidelines for how and when interrogations with intoxicated persons should take place. Legal practitioners does not seem to have knowledge about the science on when it is most optimal to interrogate intoxicated persons. Or how the interrogations should be carried out in order to extract the highest proportion of correct information, so that criminal investigations does not follow a dead end. The science also shows how difficult it is to make accurate estimations of a person’s intoxication level, just based on observable symptoms. It is therefore a high risk that the police in their subjective judgements, reject some intoxicated persons as not credible, when these persons in fact could have provided accurate investigation leads. The aim of this project is to inform and facilitate a dialog with legal practitioners about what science have found on interrogations with intoxicated persons. The project consists of one day educations with lectures and dialog where the researcher visits both the Swedish Police Authority, the District Court, and the Court of Appeal. Beyond this, the research findings will also be highlighted in professional journals such as Swedish Police and Todays Law. To have authorities act according to scientific guidelines are of outmost importance for a constitutional state as Sweden.
Final report
Project title: Societal collaboration as a mean to bridge the knowledge gap between academia and the legal system: An important action for greater legal certainty in Sweden.
Project aim: The aim of this project was to inform and facilitate a dialog with legal practitioners about what science have found on interrogations with intoxicated persons. The goal for the project was to have presentations and educations with lectures and dialog where the researcher will visits both the Swedish Police Authority, the District Court, and the Court of Appeal. Beyond this, the aim was also to highlight research findings in professional journals (e.g., Swedish Police or Todays Law). To have authorities act according to scientific findings are of outmost importance for a constitutional state as Sweden.
Background: Police, judges and other legal practitioners comes in contact with many
intoxicated victims of crime, witnesses and suspects. The Swedish Police Authority does not have policy guidelines for how and when interrogations with intoxicated persons should take place. Legal practitioners does not seem to have knowledge about the science on when it is most optimal to interrogate intoxicated persons. Or how the interrogations should be carried out in order to extract the highest proportion of correct information, so that criminal investigations does not follow a dead end. The science also shows how difficult it is to make accurate estimations of a person’s intoxication level, just based on observable symptoms. It is therefore a high risk that the police in their subjective judgements, reject some intoxicated persons as not credible, when these persons in fact could have provided accurate investigation leads.
Achieved goals:
The outcome of the project can be considered very successful since many institutions within the legal arena where visited (institution, city, date):
- The Swedish Police Education, Södertörn Högskola, 2019-02-11
- The Swedish Police Authority – section city, for the police chief and steering committee, Gothenburg, 2019-04-02
- The Scientific Fair – for legal practitioners and the public, Gothenburg, 2019-04-07
- Swedish Police Authority – section city, Gothenburg, 2019-05-06
- Prosecution Authority - West, Uddevalla, 2019-05-24
- The special task force within the National Operation Department, Swedish Police Authority (Stockholm, Sweden), 2019-09-05
- Police region North, Umea, 2019-12-02
- District Court, Lund, 2019-12-06
- District Court, Umea, 2019-12-19
- Court of Appeal - Göta Hovrätt, Jönköping, 2020-02-21
Beyond this, the following is planned as well:
- Court of Appeal - Svea Hovrätt, Stockholm (visit booked: 2020-03-20)
- Debate article is soon to be submitted to the professional magazines Todays Law or Swedish Police. The goal is to write this debate article together with the special task force within the National Operation Department at the Swedish Police Authority and write about our upcoming collaboration on developing national policy guidelines for investigative interviews with intoxicated eyewitnesses (planned activity to March- April 2020).
Additional value of the project:
The project is considered to be very successful because it achieved to reach a broader audience within the legal arena than was first aimed at. Many visited institutions also asked for the presentation/educational material to continue their further education, which is a good indicator that the knowledge was appreciated and well needed. Hence, the project was successful as a bridge between academia and the legal system.
Beyond this, there has also been an additional value of the project. A new contact was established between academia and the special task force within the National Operation Department at the Swedish Police Authority who is in charge of developing policy guidelines for interrogations/investigative interviews with sober persons. We have now started a collaboration within the framework of another project (funded by the Innovation- and Grants Office at University of Gothenburg and VINOVA), which will be one first stepping stone towards developing national scientific policy guidelines concerning how to conduct investigative interviews with alcohol-intoxicated eyewitnesses.
Without the present communication project, it is highly likely that a contact had not been established between academia and the special task force within the Swedish Police Authority. The current project therefore functioned as a valuable springboard to a new cooperation between academia and legal practitioners, and to continue to develop and educate the legal system to follow scientific based knowledge. Hopefully, this can increase the likelihood that even more legal practitioners in the future will look at scientific facts before conducting investigative interviews and interrogations.
Project aim: The aim of this project was to inform and facilitate a dialog with legal practitioners about what science have found on interrogations with intoxicated persons. The goal for the project was to have presentations and educations with lectures and dialog where the researcher will visits both the Swedish Police Authority, the District Court, and the Court of Appeal. Beyond this, the aim was also to highlight research findings in professional journals (e.g., Swedish Police or Todays Law). To have authorities act according to scientific findings are of outmost importance for a constitutional state as Sweden.
Background: Police, judges and other legal practitioners comes in contact with many
intoxicated victims of crime, witnesses and suspects. The Swedish Police Authority does not have policy guidelines for how and when interrogations with intoxicated persons should take place. Legal practitioners does not seem to have knowledge about the science on when it is most optimal to interrogate intoxicated persons. Or how the interrogations should be carried out in order to extract the highest proportion of correct information, so that criminal investigations does not follow a dead end. The science also shows how difficult it is to make accurate estimations of a person’s intoxication level, just based on observable symptoms. It is therefore a high risk that the police in their subjective judgements, reject some intoxicated persons as not credible, when these persons in fact could have provided accurate investigation leads.
Achieved goals:
The outcome of the project can be considered very successful since many institutions within the legal arena where visited (institution, city, date):
- The Swedish Police Education, Södertörn Högskola, 2019-02-11
- The Swedish Police Authority – section city, for the police chief and steering committee, Gothenburg, 2019-04-02
- The Scientific Fair – for legal practitioners and the public, Gothenburg, 2019-04-07
- Swedish Police Authority – section city, Gothenburg, 2019-05-06
- Prosecution Authority - West, Uddevalla, 2019-05-24
- The special task force within the National Operation Department, Swedish Police Authority (Stockholm, Sweden), 2019-09-05
- Police region North, Umea, 2019-12-02
- District Court, Lund, 2019-12-06
- District Court, Umea, 2019-12-19
- Court of Appeal - Göta Hovrätt, Jönköping, 2020-02-21
Beyond this, the following is planned as well:
- Court of Appeal - Svea Hovrätt, Stockholm (visit booked: 2020-03-20)
- Debate article is soon to be submitted to the professional magazines Todays Law or Swedish Police. The goal is to write this debate article together with the special task force within the National Operation Department at the Swedish Police Authority and write about our upcoming collaboration on developing national policy guidelines for investigative interviews with intoxicated eyewitnesses (planned activity to March- April 2020).
Additional value of the project:
The project is considered to be very successful because it achieved to reach a broader audience within the legal arena than was first aimed at. Many visited institutions also asked for the presentation/educational material to continue their further education, which is a good indicator that the knowledge was appreciated and well needed. Hence, the project was successful as a bridge between academia and the legal system.
Beyond this, there has also been an additional value of the project. A new contact was established between academia and the special task force within the National Operation Department at the Swedish Police Authority who is in charge of developing policy guidelines for interrogations/investigative interviews with sober persons. We have now started a collaboration within the framework of another project (funded by the Innovation- and Grants Office at University of Gothenburg and VINOVA), which will be one first stepping stone towards developing national scientific policy guidelines concerning how to conduct investigative interviews with alcohol-intoxicated eyewitnesses.
Without the present communication project, it is highly likely that a contact had not been established between academia and the special task force within the Swedish Police Authority. The current project therefore functioned as a valuable springboard to a new cooperation between academia and legal practitioners, and to continue to develop and educate the legal system to follow scientific based knowledge. Hopefully, this can increase the likelihood that even more legal practitioners in the future will look at scientific facts before conducting investigative interviews and interrogations.