A Perth researcher believes he can weed out false confessions from genuine admissions of guilt after utilising a new psychological technique to understand a police interrogation transcript of Making a Murderer suspect Brendan Dassey.

Murdoch University criminologist Dr David Keatley developed the Behaviour Sequence Analysis system in response to the “Reid technique”, a popular method of interrogation commonly used by police.

A three-judge panel has determined that Brendan Dassey was coerced into confessing and should be released from prison last year. Credit:Eric Young

The Reid technique focuses on reading non-verbal clues that may indicate dishonesty and wearing down suspects' “psychological resistance”.

Critics argue the technique can often place too much emphasis on body language, with instances of discomfort often taken to infer guilt.