CERL Advisory Council member Mark Fallon joined national law enforcement interrogation experts, civil rights and civil liberties advocates, legislators, and survivors of police deceptive interrogation at the Connecticut State Capitol to call for passage of S.B. 1071. The bill would limit the use of evidence obtained through deceptive or coercive tactics during interrogations of persons under the age of 18. According to Fallon:

“False confessions continue to result in wrongful convictions. Interrogation practice must evolve to methods based on law, science, and ethics. At Project Aletheia at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, we are working with interrogation professionals and research scientists around the world on research and training in a new wave of science-based, effective interviewing techniques. Yet, there are still far too many confession-driven practices that violate constitutional rights and basic human dignity. Police must be banned from lying to suspects during interrogation. Effective, scientifically supported interrogation techniques must be implemented. Trust must be restored between the police and the public served. Policing with virtue is a step closer to community embraced policing.”

Mark Fallon spent over three decades as a national security professional, principally as a special agent with NCIS. He has conducted interrogations in the United States and internationally and chaired the three-agency Research Committee of the High Value Detainee Interrogation Group. Fallon was a member of the 15-person international steering committee of experts overseeing the development of the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering. He is also the director of ClubFed, LLC. Read his bio here.