A FORENSIC DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF POLICEACCUSED CONVERSATIONS IN SELECTED POLICE STATIONS IN ZARIA

Abstract

This study examines the language use and discourse strategies
employed by police officers and accused individuals in police-accused
conversations in selected police stations in Zaria, Nigeria. Using a
forensic discourse analysis approach, this research investigates the
linguistic and discursive features of these conversations, with a focus
on the power dynamics, cultural factors, and individual characteristics
that influence language use. The study analyses 2 police-accused
conversations, using manual note-taking to capture the conversations
and transcribed from selected police stations in Zaria. The findings
reveal that Police officers often employ coercive language strategies,
including leading questions, interruptions, and confrontational tone,
to exert power and control over the accused. In contrast, accused
individuals frequently use defensive language strategies, such as
denials, justifications, and appeals to authority, to negotiate their
position and challenge the police officer's dominance. In addition,
the findings highlighted that different act forms have been used by
both the accused and the police. The study reveals that to a great
extent, elicitation and reply/informative are largely used by accused
persons and investigating police officers. The reason for these are that
the IPO uses elicitation as a linguistic act form to secure information
from the accused person and the later in turn uses reply/informative
linguistic act form to supply the information requested throughout
the interrogation, concerning the case under investigation.