The Effect of an Interrogator's Race on a Suspect's Perceived Trust

During the process of a criminal interrogation, investigators may utilize a strategy that entails gaining a suspect's trust in order to obtain a confession. The literature has demonstrated that racial and ethnic diversity impedes the development of trust in society, and minorities have negative impressions of law enforcement. The present study sought to examine if there is a likelihood that trust will be hindered during an interrogation when the detective and suspect are from different racial backgrounds. Participants of this study were asked to rate a detective in regards to trust in vignettes that depicted an interrogation between a Caucasian detective and Caucasian suspect or a Caucasian detective and Asian suspect. The detective's ratings from both scenarios were then compared. Despite the literature on racial and ethnic trust and minority's perception on law enforcement, results of this study did not find a race interaction occurring in the vignettes. This suggests that the detective's race does not have an impact the suspect's ability to trust the detective during an interrogation.