Reducing Juvenile False Confessions

On May 30, 2021, a new law went into effect in Illinois that makes confessions by minors induced by police deception inadmissible as evidence. State Senator Robert Peters, one of the law's sponsors, told reporters that "When a kid is in a stuffy interrogation room being grilled by adults, they're scared and are more likely to say whatever it is they think the officer wants to hear to get themselves out of that situation, regardless of the truth. Police officers too often exploit this situation in an effort to elicit false information and statements from minors in order to help them with a case. Real safety and justice can never be realized if we allow this practice to continue." The Illinois law, the first of its kind in the United States, passed with bipartisan support.