Police interview of suspects in China: developments and analyses

Journal article


Zeng, Fanging, Huang, Ching-Yu and Bull, Ray 2020. Police interview of suspects in China: developments and analyses. International Journal of Police Science and Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355720947548
AuthorsZeng, Fanging, Huang, Ching-Yu and Bull, Ray
Abstract

This paper investigates the power dynamics in police interviews with suspects in China by examining a real-life sample. It first overviews some recent developments and legislation in China regarding police interviewing of suspects, followed by outlining the linguistic and psychological research which the analyses are based upon. The interviews are examined using critical discourse analysis that reveals the high-power position of the Chinese police in suspect interviews. However, the large proportion of open questions found in the interviews is encouraging, as this suggests that the regulations outlawing use of evidence obtained by torture or other illegal means is taking effect. This paper is the very first to empirically examine actual Chinese police interviews with suspects, providing valuable insights for theories and practice.

KeywordsForensic Linguistics, Investigative Interviewing, Police Interrogation, China, Suspect Interviewing
Year2020
JournalInternational Journal of Police Science and Management
PublisherSage
ISSN1461-3557
1478-1603
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/1461355720947548
Web address (URL)http://hdl.handle.net/10545/625077
hdl:10545/625077
Publication dates13 Aug 2020
Publication process dates
Deposited13 Aug 2020, 14:52
Accepted02 May 2020
ContributorsUniversity of China, Keele University and University of Derby
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