Summary
"Modifications to Canada's police caution on the right to silence were made to help increase its comprehensibility. It was hypothesized that university participants who received the modified caution during a mock interrogation would score significantly higher on measures of comprehension than those who received the standard caution. Interviews were also conducted with clients from the Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto (ALST) to elucidate factors that influence the decision to waive legal rights during custodial interrogations. Results indicate that comprehension was significantly higher among those that received the modified caution and that those with higher comprehension scores were more likely to exercise their right to silence. Moreover, ALST clients reported that coercive and manipulative techniques were commonly used by police to gain a legal rights waiver. These findings suggest that clarifying and standardizing Canada's legal rights will lead to better comprehension and greater protection against false or coerced confessions."--Abstract.