The Coercion and Counselling Approaches to Interrogation of High Value Detainees: Perspectives from the UK

This contribution discusses the problems associated with using coercive interrogation methods and the benefits of utilising counselling approaches when interrogating high-value detainees (i.e. individuals suspected of terrorism). It focuses first on the context of terrorism and the use of harsh interrogation methods (including torture) by both US and UK interrogators. It then outlines the move from interrogation to interviewing in the UK and the adoption of non-coercive approaches. Lastly, it gives an overview of ORBIT—an empirically based model of police interviewing, based on counselling approaches, developed from analysis of real-world police interviews with terrorism suspects. Furthermore, it discusses research conducted over the last 12 years that provides empirical support for using the ORBIT model of interviewing.