Role Of Psychologists In National Security Interrogations. Psychology

ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY INTERROGATIONS
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The issue of having psychologists and psychiatrists in national security interrogations came to light after David Hoffman independent investigation published its report on the process of interrogation at the national level. Hoffman’s team found the government to be using force in conducting interrogation in unethical ways especially during the Bush administration CITATION Ann15 \l 1033 (Speckhard, 2015). The government was using soft torture and enhanced interrogation techniques to extract information from individuals and the government shielded itself from claims of torture by claiming that health providers were involved and oversaw the interrogations. In 2015, the APA banned any involvement of its members in national security interrogations CITATION Jam15 \l 1033 (Risen, 2015). The ban explicitly stated that ‘psychologists shall not conduct, supervise, be in the presence of, or otherwise assist any national security interrogations for any military or intelligence entities, including private contractors working on their behalf, nor advise on conditions of confinement insofar as these might facilitate such an interrogation CITATION Jam15 \l 1033 (Risen, 2015).’ But what was the role of psychologists in national security interrogation?
First, psychologists were involved to prevent the coercion of the individual CITATION Ste06 \l 1033 (Behnke, 2006). Coercion involves threatening or causing harm through physical injury or mental suffering. Psychologists are involved to ensure that the methods used to extract the information from the individual did not amount to any harm; physical or emotional. Thus, they advise interrogators on what tools and approaches to use to ensure that they do not cause harm. Psychologists are bound by the Hippocratic oath and one of the ethical principles that bind them is ‘do no harm.’ In the capacity of interrogations, psychologists were acting in the best interest of the individual and they had to ensure that any method the interrogators used did not have any ‘harm’ on the individual. This is irrespective of the crime the individual is accused of. Even in cases of terrorism, the psychologist must ensure that the interrogators use ethical processes and procedures that do not cause mental and physical harm to the individual CITATION Ste06 \l 1033 (Behnke, 2006). Thus, in any interrogation process, the psychologist advises the interrogators on any technique or question that he/she believes has capacity to inflict physical or emotional harm.
Psychologists ought to be involved in the whole interrogation process to ensure the interrogators do not use coercive means outside the interrogation room. The interrogation room is a fraction of the process to extract information from the individual and though it may seem ‘friendly and ethical’ the treatment of the individual outside the interrogation room also has a big impact on the process CITATION Max18 \l 1033 (Houck, 2018). Therefore, the psychologist helps in designing an environment where the individual’s rights are inviolate inside and outside the interrogation room. This involves even th...