"If we didn't know what happened, you wouldn't be sitting in that chair": Communicative Purposes and Rhetorical Actions in Canadian Police Suspect Interviews

Miscarriages of justice carry devastating, lasting impacts for those who are wrongfully accused or convicted, as well as for their families, loved ones, and wider communities (Campbell & Denov, 2004; Schuller et al., 2021; Weigand, 2009). Research suggests that police interviews represent one of the earliest points from which a miscarriage of justice can originate (Campbell, 2018, p.85), having been described as the “most potent weapon” in securing a conviction (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004, p. 35). In the aim of better understanding the interactions of interviewers and suspects in police interviews, and in addressing the dearth of bilingual studies within this research sphere, this qualitative study examined 35 Canadian suspect interview transcripts in English (n=17) and French (n=18). A rhetorical move-step analysis (Swales, 1990) revealed a consistent rhetorical structure which facilitates three major communicative purposes: (1) gathering significant evidence, (2) creating a clear and consistent record, and (3) supporting the admissibility of interview evidence. Despite legal and cultural differences distinguishing English and French Canada (Department of Justice Canada, 2023; Gagnon, 2023; Turgeon et al. 2019), no significant rhetorical variation was observed across the English and French corpora examined in this study, suggesting that the texts’ communicative purpose (Swales, 1990) is the driving force governing the construction of suspect interviews by law enforcement. The findings of this study contribute to a growing body of work on Canadian suspect interviews (e.g., Eastwood, 2011; King & Snook, 2009; Snook et al., 2010a, 2010b, 2020) by providing an expanded understanding of interviewing practices in Canada and framing suspect interviews as a single, multipurpose genre (Swales, 1990). Moreover, this study expands on the work of previous research discussing the context (Bucholtz, 2009; Komter, 2012), purpose (Coulthard, 2002; Stokoe & Edwards, 2008), audience (Carter, 2011; Haworth, 2013) and participants (Haworth, 2009; Heydon, 2007; Momeni, 2011) of suspect interviews. As well, the conclusions of this work highlight aspects of suspect interviews that may present an increased risk for the miscarriage of justice. Overall, this study supports ongoing efforts to develop evidence-informed interviewing practices and provides recommendations to be carried forward in future work.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Carreau, Kathryn

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2025 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, distribution to students, research and scholarship. Theses may only be shared by linking to the Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be copied without proper attribution to the author; no part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2025-16699

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/44726