Acknowledging that torture is not an efficient form of interrogation

[u/Character_Growth_397]

Torture is often shown as an effective way of interrogation, with writers forgetting one key detail: People lie. AAMOF, it's likely that they will lie and give you untrue information to not be tortured

The Last of Us - Joel has an interrogation map where he'd make two different people point to something on a map. If they both pointed the same thing it meant the info was true. Very often this wasn't the case

Mass Effect 2 - Garrus points out that torture is not effective because victims will lie to make the torture stop

[u/RadicalRealist22]

Torture is effective if you ask for information you can verify.

Any method of interrogation is useless if you cannot verify the information.

[u/Equivalent-Yam6331 → u/RadicalRealist22]

If you can immediately verify AND if you know for a fact that the person knows the answer. It is pointless to torture someone just to have them make shit up just for a chance you leave them alone. 

[u/Business-Loquat143 → u/Equivalent-Yam6331]

If they don't know what you want why torture them in the first place?

I'm assuming ofc you only torture people you know have the info you need

[u/TestSubject003 → u/Business-Loquat143]

People will torture for sadistic pleasure. Because they want to hurt people. Getting info is just the excuse.

[u/Business-Loquat143 → u/TestSubject003]

Ok but assuming you actually torture for info. 

You wouldn't go after someone if you weren't really sure they have the info

[u/New_War_7087 → u/Business-Loquat143]

You may be sure and still wrong. Bad intel is a thing.

[u/UnrealCanine → u/Business-Loquat143]

Well how do you know if someone knows something or not?

[u/Anoobis100percent → u/RadicalRealist22]

Also, even if you can verify the information, torture is infamous for causing lapses in (or damage to) memory.

[u/Special_Cicada6968 → u/Anoobis100percent]

Even more relevant, the first memories to go are the most recent ones... Which are often the ones the interrogator wants to know about.

[u/Available-Half-40 → u/RadicalRealist22]

Even then, not really. Torture inflicts extreme trauma on a person, and extreme trauma can wipe away memories. Theoretically, you could torture someone into forgetting the information you're after.

[u/Dave13Flame → u/RadicalRealist22]

Only if you are certain they have the information to begin with - which generally speaking you can't really be sure of in 99.9% of cases - and even then it is far less effective than other interrogation strategies that rely on exploiting people's desires.

In fact, torture can be counter productive, because it can make a person more antagonistic, if they hate you, they're less likely to want to share the information with you, which means it'll take far longer. Verification can take quite a lot of time depending on the info, and it can come with a whole host of other issues. While you are verifying info, you are presumably not continuing to torture the prisoner, so they have an incentive to waste as much of your time with verification as possible, because it's a means to delay the pain while also not giving you what you want.

All in all, torture is extremely narrow in the scenarios where it CAN work, and even when it does, it's extremely inefficient.

[u/RadicalRealist22 → u/Dave13Flame]

I mean specific pieces of information, like a password or a location.

If the information is false, you know as soon as you try it, and then the subject will be confronted with more torture by an even less friendly torturer.