Good cop, bad cop is a negotiation strategy used in a variety of different industries, such as sales — and law enforcement.
What is the concept of good cop, bad cop
In the strategy, two individuals or parties work as a team to offer a series of rewards and punishments, hoping to get an advantage over another individual.
The bad cop presents a hostile and abusive attitude, which is countered by the good cop, who adopts a non-threatening and sympathetic approach, but is this an ethical approach for interrogation?
Is good cop, bad cop ethical?
While the principle doesn’t necessarily promote harm, it’s commonly extorted as a dirty negotiation tactic. Without proper control or protocol, acting as the bad cop can land the police officer in trouble, with the interrogation method appearing as extortion and even filing an incorrect police report.
Unfortunately, “good” cops have to pay the price of “bad” cops who adopt the negotiation strategy into their real-life persona.
learn more from bad people
Are you interested in more of this discussion?
Bad People have released a very interesting podcast episode on this exact topic, discussing whether the tactic actually works. Listen to the full episode here.