HYPNOSIS IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Hypnosis has been of value in providing investigative direction and, in the cases described, has led to the solutions of major crimes. The present authors have described the methodology of our team approach which was used in 23 cases comprised of 53 witnesses. New information was developed in more than 60% of the cases utilizing hypnosis. Although only a small amount of this information was corroborated, that which was corroborated became admissible in the courts and led to convictions. The disadvantages in using hypnosis are that memory recall may be distorted by the method or it may be inaccurate and misleading. These drawbacks, however, also exist at non-hypnotic levels. Such data, therefore, always must be analyzed by careful investigation for their veracity. An overview of the results achieved in utilizing hypnosis in criminal investigation indicates that it is worthy of being employed, and that investigative personnel can work comfortably with professionals in an investigative setting. The present authors have described the guidelines we employed for the use of hypnosis in criminal investigation by the FBI. We also have discussed the safeguards to be taken and some of the pitfalls commonly encountered in our work. Complexities of law enforcement operations today demand imaginative approaches to investigative problems. When hypnosis is used by trained interviewers under the direction of qualified professionals with due regard for its limitations and guidelines, hypnosis can provide a new resource and must no longer be ignored as a viable, scientific, investigative tool. © 1979, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.