23. Blue Lips: Does good cop / bad cop actually work?

On the 22nd of April 1972, the police in the southeast London borough of Lewisham were alerted to a house fire on Doggett Road. On the second floor of the building, they discovered the body of 26-year-old Maxwell Confait.

Three boys later confessed to the murder. In this episode of Bad People, Dr. Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen examine what went wrong in the police interviewing process, the major legal reforms that followed and their implications for police practices in the UK today. We also hear from Dr. Zoe Walkington of The Open University on what it’s like to train detectives and does the ‘good cop, bad cop’ style of interviewing ever work?

Warning: This episode contains strong language and references to murder and suicide. Presenters: Dr. Julia Shaw and Sofie Hagen Producer: Simona Rata Artwork: Kingsley Nebechi Music: Matt Chandler Series Editor: Rami Tzabar

Academic Consultants for The Open University: Dr. Zoe Walkington Dr. Camilla Elphick

Commissioning Assistant Producer: Adam Eland Commissioning Executive: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Editor: Jason Phipps

Bad People is produced in partnership with The Open University and is a BBC Audio Science Production for BBC Sounds

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