House Bill 1138 (69th Legislature, 2025) creates a new statutory chapter in Title 10 RCW and adds a section to chapter 43.101 RCW to change evidentiary and training rules for criminal interrogations. It establishes a presumption, effective December 31, 2026, that statements obtained through an officer’s intentional deception during interrogations are inadmissible in court for investigations of misdemeanors or felonies, including juvenile allegations that would be misdemeanors or felonies if committed by an adult. The prosecution may overcome that presumption only by proving by clear and convincing evidence that the statement was voluntary and was not made in response to the officer’s use of deception. The bill also creates a procedural training requirement: the commission referenced in chapter 43.101 RCW must contract with an expert or organization to develop, administer, and periodically revise a training on evidence-based, rapport-based, noncoercive interrogation and interview techniques. The training must explain and demonstrate topics such as false confessions, heightened risks associated with deception, and the implementation and outcomes of rapport-based techniques, and must include at minimum the PEACE method, strategic use of true evidence, the cognitive interview, and the trauma-informed interview. The completed training must be made available at no cost to all law enforcement personnel and agencies in the state and offered beginning July 1, 2026. The bill defines key terms for the new rules, including “deception,” “interrogation,” “law enforcement officer,” “person,” and “statement,” and identifies affected parties as Washington law enforcement personnel and agencies, prosecutors, the commission in chapter 43.101 RCW, and persons being interrogated. The extracted text does not specify the identity of “the commission,” the exact chapter number or title to be added to Title 10 RCW, nor details about how the commission will select the expert or organization, how the training will be funded, or enforcement mechanisms to ensure uptake.

If enacted, police departments and individual officers in Washington will face a strong incentive to stop knowingly lying to suspects during questioning because any statement produced through intentional deception will generally be excluded from misdemeanor and felony cases starting December 31, 2026. The state will provide a free, state‑contracted training program on rapport‑based and trauma‑informed interview methods (including PEACE, cognitive interviewing, and strategic use of true evidence) by July 1, 2026, so agencies are likely to shift policies and officer practices to those methods to preserve the admissibility of statements. Prosecutors will also need to prepare to meet a higher proof standard (clear and convincing evidence) to admit a statement if deception is alleged, which may change charging decisions and reliance on confession evidence in court and plea negotiations. The most affected parties are law enforcement agencies and officers, who must change how they interrogate, and prosecutors, who will bear greater litigation risk and evidentiary burdens if deception was used. People being questioned, including juveniles, will likely face fewer deceptive tactics and therefore a lower risk of false confessions. The bill says the training will be provided at no cost, but it does not specify which entity named as “the commission” will run it, how the expert contractor will be chosen, or how training uptake and other implementation costs (like officer time or updated policies) will be funded or enforced, so some practical details remain unclear.