Scientific Interrogation: The Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) Technique

This 2025 paper provides a comprehensive English-language exposition of the Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique for investigative interviewing by an international team of leading researchers. The work synthesizes decades of research to present a scientifically validated, evidence-based approach that moves away from traditional accusatorial methods and unreliable behavioral cues.

This is a conceptual and theoretical exposition that synthesizes existing research on the SUE framework rather than presenting original empirical data collection.

The Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique represents a paradigm shift from accusatorial to evidence-based investigative interviewing methods. This comprehensive review by an international team of researchers, including original SUE developers, synthesizes decades of research to provide practitioners with a scientifically validated framework. The technique operates on three core components: pre-interview evidence assessment, tactical questioning without premature disclosure, and strategic evidence timing to maximize inconsistencies among deceptive suspects. Research demonstrates SUE's substantial superiority over traditional behavioral observation methods, with trained interviewers achieving accuracy rates exceeding 85% compared to chance-level performance of untrained personnel. The framework addresses longstanding concerns about unreliable behavioral cues and coercive practices that can lead to false confessions.

The SUE technique offers law enforcement a trainable, evidence-based alternative to unreliable behavioral observation methods, with potential to significantly improve investigative outcomes while reducing risks of false confessions. This comprehensive English-language exposition facilitates international adoption and technical dialogue among global specialists in investigative interviewing.

Background & Context

The Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique represents a paradigm shift in investigative interviewing, moving away from accusatorial methods toward evidence-based, information-gathering approaches. This technique surpasses conventional deception detection methods, such as relying on body language cues, in terms of effectiveness, addressing a critical gap in interrogation science where traditional approaches have demonstrated limited reliability.

The 2025 paper by Perez-Campos Mayoral and colleagues brings together an international team of leading researchers—including original SUE developers Pär Anders Granhag and Maria Hartwig, alongside Mark Fallon and other experts—to provide a comprehensive English-language exposition of this scientifically validated technique. Following the positive reception of their research in Spanish, this work expands their proposal to an international audience to facilitate technical dialogue with global specialists.

This contribution is particularly timely given the growing adoption of science-based interviewing methods in law enforcement worldwide. The SUE framework addresses longstanding concerns about the unreliability of behavioral cues and the risks of coercive interrogation practices that can lead to false confessions.

Research Design & Methodology

This 2025 publication is a conceptual and theoretical exposition rather than an empirical study with original data collection. The work examines how the strategic management of information optimizes accuracy in credibility assessment and investigative efficiency. The paper synthesizes decades of research on the SUE technique to provide practitioners with a comprehensive framework.

The SUE technique is grounded in psychological research demonstrating fundamental differences in how guilty and innocent suspects behave during interrogation. The SUE framework operates on the premise that liars and truth-tellers use different strategies to convince, with truth-tellers tending to be highly forthcoming with information, and liars tending to be avoidant and offering little information—creating statement-evidence inconsistencies that are one of the strongest cues to deception found in the literature.

The theoretical foundation rests on three core components described in prior research:

• Pre-interview assessment and strategic evaluation of available evidence
• Tactical questioning that probes evidence-related topics without premature disclosure
• Strategic evidence disclosure timing designed to maximize statement-evidence inconsistencies among deceptive suspects

Results & Key Findings

The SUE technique has demonstrated substantially improved deception detection accuracy compared to traditional methods. Prior research found that compared to untrained interviewers who obtained an accuracy rate of 56.1 percent in detecting deception, trained interviewers using SUE scored 85.4 percent—a dramatic improvement that exceeds chance-level performance by a significant margin.

Statement-evidence inconsistencies have been found to be a powerful indicator of deceit, with innocent and guilty suspects differing in their consistency with evidence by d = 1.83, 95% CI [1.34, 2.32]—an effect size similar to the difference in height between men and women. This represents one of the largest and most reliable effects in the deception detection literature.

Key advantages of the SUE technique identified in the conceptual framework include:

• Evidence-based superiority over behavioral observation methods
• Trainability—with appropriate training, the technique is user-friendly and straightforward to implement
• Versatile applications suitable for a wide range of investigative settings
• Reduced false confession risk through non-coercive, information-gathering approaches

Discussion & Significance

This paper represents an important contribution to the internationalization of evidence-based interrogation science. By bringing the SUE technique to broader audiences through English-language publication, the authors facilitate adoption of scientifically validated methods that can replace discredited approaches relying on pseudoscientific behavioral indicators.

Scientific evidence has shown that nonverbal cues associated with deception are weak and unreliable; to enhance interview accuracy, investigators should focus on improving verbal cues through application of the Cognitive Credibility Assessment, Verifiability Approach, and Strategic Use of Evidence. This positions SUE within a broader movement toward cognitive and verbal approaches in credibility assessment.

The technique's emphasis on strategic information management rather than confrontation aligns with international best practices in investigative interviewing, including frameworks like PEACE (used in the UK) and information-gathering approaches adopted by progressive law enforcement agencies. The collaboration between researchers and practitioners (including retired law enforcement expert Mark Fallon) strengthens the practical applicability of the guidance provided.

Limitations & Considerations

As a conceptual paper rather than an empirical study, this work does not present new experimental data or address specific methodological limitations of original research. However, several considerations emerge from the broader SUE literature that practitioners must understand.

The technique requires adequate pre-interview preparation and case-specific evidence to be effective. In cases with minimal physical evidence, the strategic disclosure framework has limited application. Additionally, the success of SUE depends heavily on proper training—simply withholding evidence without understanding the psychological principles underlying suspect strategies may not yield the documented benefits.

Cultural and jurisdictional variations in interrogation practices, legal frameworks, and suspect expectations may influence the technique's effectiveness across different contexts. Further research is needed to validate SUE's performance across diverse populations and legal systems beyond the primarily Western contexts where most validation studies have occurred.

Practical Applications

For polygraph examiners and investigators, the SUE technique offers a complementary approach to physiological detection methods. With appropriate training, this technique is user-friendly and straightforward to learn and implement, with versatile applications suitable for a wide range of settings. The technique can be integrated into pre-test interviews to gather more reliable verbal information and identify areas for focused polygraph questioning.

The paper provides practitioners with a scientifically grounded alternative to interrogation methods that rely on unreliable behavioral indicators or coercive tactics. By focusing on strategic evidence management and exploiting psychological differences between truthful and deceptive suspects, investigators can improve both information yield and diagnostic accuracy. This approach reduces risks of false confessions while maintaining investigative effectiveness—a critical consideration in modern criminal justice systems increasingly concerned with wrongful convictions.