Brains vs. Brawn: The Real Science of Interrogation (And Mort’s Way of Bending It)
When it comes to crime fiction, few scenes make your palms sweat faster than the interrogation room. Two chairs. One table. A suspect who knows more than they’re saying. A detective who needs answers before the clock runs out.
In the real world, modern interrogation leans more on psychology than broken knuckles. But in Mort’s world? Let’s just say he understands the science… he just doesn’t always mind bending the rules if the stakes are high enough.
The Psychology of Pressure
Forget what you’ve seen in every 80s cop movie. Real interrogations aren’t about yelling until someone cracks. They’re built on science and subtlety.
Top methods include:
The Reid Technique – Developed in the US, this method combines confrontation, minimisation, and psychological manipulation. Critics say it leads to false confessions, but it remains infamous.
The PEACE Model – Born in the UK, now used in Australia, this approach avoids coercion. It focuses on building rapport, asking open questions, and letting suspects trip over their own lies.
Good Cop / Bad Cop – Still in play, though usually more psychological than physical these days. The “good” officer offers empathy; the “bad” officer applies subtle pressure.
The science is clear: suspects talk when they feel heard, not when they’re threatened. Studies show rapport-based approaches yield more accurate intel than intimidation.
But try telling Mort that when he’s got 24 hours to save someone’s life.
Brawn: The Old-School Tactics
Of course, intimidation hasn’t disappeared entirely—especially in fiction. Physical pressure, slammed tables, and whispered threats might be frowned upon in the police manual, but they make for damn gripping reading.
Mort knows the line, but he also knows criminals. He knows some won’t respond to tea and sympathy. Sometimes a slammed fist, a too-long silence, or simply leaning in close is enough to rattle even the hardest blokes.
And while real officers risk lawsuits and misconduct charges, Mort risks something else: failure. For him, it’s not about procedure—it’s about survival.
Mort’s Interrogation Style
Mort’s method is equal parts brains, brawn, and a touch of Aussie sarcasm. Think:
The Stare Down – Mort has a gift for holding silence until the other bloke breaks first. He’s not rushing. He’s waiting. And waiting. And waiting… until the words spill out.
The Pub Yarn – Instead of sterile police rooms, Mort sometimes takes a suspect out of their comfort zone. A dingy pub, a noisy café, a back alley. The setting does the work.
Humour as a Weapon – Mort uses banter to throw people off balance. A laugh here, a cutting joke there—it’s disarming, and it often gets people to slip.
The Shadow of Violence – Mort doesn’t have to throw a punch. His reputation, the way he stands, even the memory of what he’s done before—that’s often enough.
He’s not reckless. He’s strategic. He blends the science of rapport with the implied threat of consequences.
Real Interrogations: Why Brains Usually Win
Across Australia and the UK, the PEACE model dominates. It’s designed to stop the miscarriages of justice that plagued the old Reid style. Officers focus on:
Preparation & Planning – Understanding the suspect’s background.
Engage & Explain – Building rapport and explaining the process.
Account – Gathering the suspect’s story, testing inconsistencies.
Closure – Wrapping up respectfully, no matter the outcome.
Evaluation – Reviewing what worked and what didn’t.
It’s the kind of approach that fits neatly into academic papers but doesn’t always feel gritty enough for a thriller novel.
Which is why Mort bends the rules. He doesn’t skip the brains—he just adds a little brawn when the polite way won’t cut it.
🧠 The Top 12 Psychological Tools of Interrogation (Mort-ified)
Not all interrogations are about shouting across a table. The science of interviewing suspects has evolved into a toolbox of tricks—subtle, strategic, and often surprisingly effective. Here are twelve of the most researched methods, with a little Mort seasoning.
1. Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE)
Hold your cards, let them talk, then reveal specific evidence at the perfect moment to expose contradictions. It reliably pushes liars into mistakes .
Mort’s spin: He lets the perp paint the mural… then points to the bit that doesn’t match the paint on their boots.
2. Model Statement (Setting the “Detail Bar”)
Show an unrelated but detailed example of the kind of description you expect. Truth-tellers expand, liars stumble .
Mort’s spin: “Give me the steak, not the sizzle.” Then he plays the model and watches the subject sweat.
3. Sketching-While-Narrating
Ask them to draw the scene while they describe it. Boosts recall and provides extra cues of truthfulness .
Mort’s spin: Slide a napkin across, “Map your night.” The pen is mightier than the alibi.69
4. Cognitive Interview (CI) Boosts
Memory science 101: reinstate context, recall in different orders, and shift perspectives. Maximises accurate detail .
Mort’s spin: He walks them back through the rain, the music, the smell of bleach—then asks them to replay it backwards.
5. Cognitive-Load Tactics
Lying is mentally expensive. Asking suspects to tell stories in reverse order or while doing another task makes liars slip more .
Mort’s spin: “Start at the goodbye, not the hello.” If the story buckles, so does the suspect.
6. Unexpected Questions
Liars prep for the obvious; throw in curveballs—what pocket held the receipt, what colour was the doormat? They falter .
Mort’s spin: “Left pocket or right when you paid? Tap or chip?” Tiny questions, big cracks.
7. Verifiability Approach (VA)
Ask for details that can be checked—CCTV, receipts, other witnesses. Truth-tellers give them, liars pad with fluff .
Mort’s spin: “Name the barista. No? Thought so.”
8. Devil’s Advocate Technique
Get them to argue both for and against a decision. Truth-tellers give balanced accounts, liars struggle .
Mort’s spin: “Sell me why the job was a good idea… now, why it wasn’t.” Watch which side they believe.
9. The Scharff Technique
From intelligence circles: play down what you know, give long monologues, let them “correct” you. They leak more .
Mort’s spin: He plays the underdog. They “help” him fill the gaps—and hang themselves.
10. AIM Technique (Asymmetric Information Management)
Tell suspects that details are their credibility ticket. Truth-tellers go deep; liars keep it vague .
Mort’s spin: “Details clear you; vagueness buries you.” Then he waits for the shovel.
11. Timeline & Event-Segmentation Prompts
Plot the story visually, hour by hour. Contradictions stand out, memory is clearer .
Mort’s spin: Masking tape on the table, hours marked in biro—“Walk me through the gaps.”
12. Rapport as a Force Multiplier
Not soft stuff—rapport measurably increases cooperation and truth-telling . Core to PEACE and HIG approaches.
Mort’s spin: Dry humour, straight eyes, no judgment—until the moment comes.
Bonus: Evidence Disclosure Timing
Revealing evidence gradually (from broad categories to specifics) dramatically boosts yield .
Mort’s spin: A breadcrumb here, a bombshell there.
Quick Science Notes
Rapport- and info-gathering models (like PEACE) outperform accusatory tactics .
The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) confirms rapport and strategic questioning work best .
False confessions remain a risk when pressure outweighs psychology .
When Psychology Fails
There’s a dark side to interrogation science too. False confessions happen when people buckle under pressure, especially vulnerable suspects. The Innocence Project in the US estimates nearly 30% of wrongful convictions involve false confessions.
That’s why modern detectives are trained to avoid coercion and stick to open-ended questioning.
But Mort? He’s not after a courtroom confession. He’s after the truth. And sometimes, in the world he lives in, the truth doesn’t come gift-wrapped in procedural fairness.
Interrogation in Fiction: Why Readers Crave the Clash
Why do we love these scenes so much? Because they’re conflict distilled.
Two people.
Opposing goals.
Limited time.
Stakes sky-high.
It’s chess with human souls. And when Mort steps into the game, you know he’s not just playing by the manual.
Readers crave that dance between intellect and intimidation. They want to see the suspect sweat, but they also want to see the detective outsmart, outwit, and outlast. Mort gives them both.
The Mort Difference
Mort’s interrogations aren’t just about extracting facts. They’re about revealing character.
The villain who smirks through the pain.
The petty criminal who cracks at the mention of family.
The innocent bloke who holds his ground despite everything.
And Mort himself—half-brawler, half-strategist—caught between brains and brawn, deciding which card to play next.
That’s why Mort’s world feels so real. Because while police handbooks lean on psychology, thrillers remind us of the messy, flawed, human element: sometimes people only talk when they’re scared, and sometimes they only talk when they’re understood.
Final Thoughts
Real policing teaches that brains beat brawn in the long run. Psychology, rapport, and patience bring the truth to light.
But in Mort’s world? The rules bend. The clock ticks louder. And sometimes, a well-timed stare, a sarcastic line, or the shadow of what might happen next is the push that breaks a case wide open.
Because as Mort would say:
“You don’t win an interrogation by shouting. You win it by knowing which silence to keep—and which bone to break.”
Love crime fiction with interrogations that keep you sweating until the last second?
Step into Mort’s world. Download your free chapter of You Killed My Wife and see how Mort balances brains, brawn, and bloody consequences.
References
Granhag, P.A. & Hartwig, M. (2015). The Strategic Use of Evidence (SUE) technique. ResearchGate.
Vrij, A. et al. (2017). Model Statements and information disclosure. PMC.
Vrij, A. et al. (2021). Sketching-while-narrating improves recall. Wiley Online Library.
Fisher, R. & Geiselman, R. (1992). The Cognitive Interview. Simply Psychology.
Vrij, A. et al. (2008). Cognitive load and deception. Taylor & Francis.
Vrij, A. et al. (2009). The power of unexpected questions. PMC.
Nahari, G. et al. (2014). The Verifiability Approach. Crest Research.
Leal, S. et al. (2015). Devil’s Advocate approach. PMC.
Granhag, P.A. (2010). The Scharff technique. PubMed.
Luke, T.J. et al. (2020). AIM Technique. ScienceDirect.
Crest Research. Timeline Segmentation Technique. Crest.
PEACE model of interviewing. Wikipedia.
FBI High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG). FBI.
Vrij, A. & Turgeon, J. (2018). Evidence disclosure strategies. De Montfort University.
Innocence Project. False confessions. Innocence Project.