The term "third degree" refers to a controversial and illegal practice of using extreme physical or psychological methods to extract information or confessions from persons in custody. The term originated in the United States and is believed to have been suggested by the third masonic degree, that of master mason, which is conferred with considerable ceremony. The practice of the third degree was debated at the meetings of the Academy of Political and Social Science and of the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1910, and police officers who participated in these discussions generally denied that there was any such practice as the third degree. However, the use of the third degree by police was a common practice in the United States, and it involved the infliction of physical or mental suffering to obtain a confession or other information about a crime. The third degree largely disappeared by 1940 due to increasing public awareness and condemnation, moderating or declining crime rates, and the development of more effective interrogation techniques.