Forensic Interview Technique and Accuracy of Evidence - Coursework Example

Forensic Interview Technique and Accuracy of Evidence. Apart from the perpetrator of abuse, children tend to be the only eyewitness to crimes. Thus, the child’s and perpetrator’s report are an extremely piece of evidence in the abuse case. The evidence is usually gathered through a forensic interview conducted by experts. A forensic interview is a structured conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee and intends to elicit detailed information about an event, which the interviewee may have experienced or witnessed. The purpose of the interview is to gather information that can help in the criminal investigation, assess the conditions of the victim or perpetrator, collect information that either collaborate or refute suspicions of abuse and lastly assess whether there is a need for medical or psychological care. The forensic interviews may be repeated to elicit more information from the interviewee. In cases where children are the victim, the criminal investigation and legal process largely depend on the quality and quantity of the children’s episodic memory. However, research on children’s episodic memory for highly emotional content shows that though it can be generally relied, the information obtained also depend on a number of factors and that are associated with the conditions that surround its retrieval (Thoresen, Lonnum, Melinder, & Magnussen, 2009). However, several approaches have shown to be more successful than others. For example, probing children recall memory gives more accurate information compared to probing recognition memory (Thoresen et al., 2009). Other conditions that affect the quality of the information include age. Research shows that adults and older children use more advanced techniques to retrieve information compared to younger children who depend on the external recognition cue to retrieve information from their memory and mostly remember less specific information (Thoresen et al., 2009). It is not only the characteristics of the interviewee that can affect the accuracy of the forensic report, but also the approach used. In both children and adults, when misinformation is presented in suggestive/leading form, the accuracy of the report is affected (Thoresen et al., 2009). For example, open-ended question gives more accurate information compared to leading question when used to interview children. Furthermore, the impact of leading question is increased when it is combined with other suggestive technique like social pressure and the need for the “correct answer”. Due to these issues suggestion has to be made on how the forensic interviews can improve to increase the accuracy of the narrations and reduce the risk of false reports. These recommendations include the use of open-ended questions, training of interviewer and police office, use of “funnel” approach in the forensic interviews etc. (Thoresen et al., 2009). Despite the interviewer manuals and the recommendations, most of the forensic interviewer do not comply (Thoresen et al., 2009). Though compliance increase with supervision, more training, and feedback, the trend affect the accuracy of the report generated by these interviews. The use of suggestive question is often problematic when dealing with children who are a victim of sexual abuse. Lyon, Ahern, & Scurich (2012), claims that spontaneous reports of genital touch from children are a strong indication that indeed touching has occurred but as the interviewers’ question becomes more direct and leading the diagnosticity of the children’s genital touch reduces. For example, Saywitz, Goodman, Nicholas, and Moan (1991, reported in Lyon et al. 2012), the study showed that general question with children tends to have low recall of genital touch in five and seven-years-old girls. However, the recall of the recall of the genital touch increase with a direct question and when aided with the anatomically correct doll. In summary, yes/no questions would increase the accuracy of information obtained from respondents. Another study conducted by Steward (1996, reported in Lyon et al. 2012), investigated whether children can remember touch or not touch in a physical examination for children aged 3 to 6 years using detail body diagram and anatomically detail dolls. The interview was conducted at one day, one month and six months after the physical examination. The direct question elicited relatively weak evidence of genital touch. However, when the interviewer used general question whether the doctor touched and if yes where? The children did not give false reports of genital touch. The information obtained through general question provided conclusive evidence of genital touch (Lyon et al., 2012). In this study, the 3 years old performed poorly compared to six years old. Indeed use of direct questions with dolls increasing the risk of false reports in younger children. Therefore, use of yes/no questions would influence the accuracy of the evidence obtained. For example, Bruck and colleagues (1995 and 2000, reported in Lyon et al., 2012) interviewed preschool children after a pediatric examination using direct questions with aid of anatomically detailed dolls. In the study, some of the questions were highly suggestive while others were yes-no questions. The interviewer asks if the doctor has the touched the child genital. The study found that there was no significant age difference, though the sample size was small. However, the figures suggested that probability of the touch if the indeed the child has been touched increased with age. The studies indicate that probability of a child recalling a sexual is cross to chance and hence the forensic interviews should be very careful when dealing with young children. These studies have been criticized due to the lack of other suggestive elements in their interviews. However, study on suggestibility young children shows that children who are highly pressured for indicate abuse (Lyon et al., 2012). Therefore, suggestibility influences the accuracy of evidence obtained from children. Other major issues about the accuracy of forensic interviews occur when the interview is repeated. For example, when people are referred for an interview on sexual abuse, the interviewer questions them about the event. Thus, the interviewer has two pieces of evidence from the same source. Bridges, Faust, and Ahern, (2009, reported in Lyon et al. 2012), suggests that the interviewer should not double count the evidence but understand that the child’s answer during the interview is dependent on the prior disclosure. If the interviewer does not recognize the redundancy, the new information though does not add any new evidence may lead to overconfidence. The interviewer may conclude that an abuse indeed occurred based on the same piece of evidence. For the second piece of information to be truly redundant, it must not add any new information on the interviewer judgment. However, this may not be possible for several reasons, especially if the interviewer uses open-ended question (Lyon et al., 2012). First, the child in the initial disclosure interviewer is likely to give very little detail of the event. Most children first report abuse to those close to them, who many not have required knowledge to conduct forensic interviews. Secondly, if the disclosure was from interested persons, the disclosure may not be credible. People who are interested in a child may misinterpret the information which reduces the credibility of the initial information. Thirdly, even if the initial recipient of the abuse report was not biased, the information may have been acquired direct questions, which are less credible compared to free recall. Hence, there is a huge risk if the forensic interviewer uses the initial report as confirmation of abuse. Lyon et al. (2012), document several scenarios that increase the accuracy of forensic interviews. First, use of open-ended question yields more accurate information compared to direct questions. As indicated above, children memory of genital touch is more likely to be true than a “yes” answer to a direct question. Second, generally, free recall reports are more accurate compared to the response to recognition questions in children. Free recall question tends to elicit three to five more information than a direct question. However, the interviewer needs to give more guidance to the child. It is vital the interview explain to the child to say “I do not know” or correct the interviewer. Another issue that improves the accuracy of the child report is the use of the narrative practice. In narrative practice, the interviewer asks about a general event before moving to the accusations. The aim is the witness accuracy and completeness since the evidence holds a critical element in a criminal investigation. Despite the effort to increase the forensic interviews accuracy, 3,000 cases of error in the United States occurs due to eyewitness incorrect testimony (Collins, Lincoln, & Frank, 2002). Collins et al. (2002), notes that though the information-gathering process, the reliability of the process and greater efficiencies depends on the forensic interviews, and several factors can affect the accuracy of these reports. First, the police lack adequate training. Due to the lack of formal instruction, the police learn their interview skills in the field, which encourage the use of erroneous methods of acquiring valuable information. Secondly, in a criminal investigation, the primary source of information is cooperative witnesses. However, the cooperative witness wants to appear observant, correct and avoid appearing foolish before the police officers. Therefore, they can provide accurate, inaccurate and a fabricated information to suit the need of the officers. Moreover, even if the witnesses are not cooperative, the information they give may be incomplete and inaccurate. Thirdly, the issue of inaccurate and incomplete reports is compounded by the fact that the witnesses may have experienced trauma. In traumatic and unexpected events, there is little time for the interviewee to observe and the situational and interpersonal conditions surrounding the person may not be ideal for observation. Thus, the report given by the interviewee may not accurate. Several methods have been suggested to ensure the completeness and the accuracy of the forensic reports (Collins et al., 2002). According to Collins et al. (2002), free recall is most accurate but least complete method of gathering information in forensic interviews. Further, controlled narrative is less accurate but more complete compared to free recall. Lastly, specific multiple-choice questions are deemed the least accurate but a complete method to acquire information in forensic interviews. Research recommends that they interview should adhere to free recall method and then move on specific question method. However, police investigate tends to rely on free recall method, constantly interrupted by a specific question. The results are the interviewer influences the response of the free recall while offering insufficient assistance to the interviewee in information retrieval. Research aimed at improving the accuracy of forensic interviews has looked at the effectiveness of cognitive approach compared to standard interview technique. The results indicate that the cognitive approach favors the older over the younger people (Collins et al., 2002). The cognitive approach is designed for the cooperative witness and use memory jogging method to elicit information. However, as reported by Collins et al. (2002) the standard police interview techniques are a narrative report and question-answer reports. The problem with such an approach is that the interviewee tends to lose concentration, restrict the response only to the specific questions and use of suggestive and non-neutral questions. Other validity issues arise when the witness s interviewed by high-status individuals. Research shows that the recall reports such interviews tend to be longer with not corresponding increase in accuracy or completeness (Collins et al., 2002). Furthermore, the attitude of the interviewing officer at the first point of contact affect the accuracy of the report. Indeed the original cognitive approach consisted only of four instruction to the interviewee which has been increased to five to accommodate the role of rapport (Kebbell, Milne, & Wagstaff, 1999). Though witnesses can produce inaccurate and incomplete information even when relaxed and motivated, it is important to determine which situation can produce information that is more accurate. Good rapport fosters a productive interpersonal environment, increasing the probability of the witness cooperating. Literature shows that good rapport creates harmony in the conversation, leads to free discussion and enable the witness to cooperate (Collins et al., 2002). Therefore, this is the most important element in person-to-person conversation. The enhanced cognitive approach has been to be more effective than the original cognitive approach an indication that rapport matters in forensic interviews (Kebbell et al., 1999). There is also the risk of contradictory information given by the victim and perpetrator in forensic interviews (Lamb, Orbach, Hershkowitz, Horowitz, & Abbott, 2007). Lamb et al. (2007), attempted to assess the accuracy of the forensic information depending on the prompt type. The result shows that generally the amount of information from a forensic interview depends on age. Furthermore, the study found that invitations prompt elicited a more accurate response than directive, option-posing, and suggestive prompts. The study confirms that in forensic interviews, information gathered through open-ended free recall is more accurate than directive and focused prompts response. Lamb et al. (2007), shows that the suspect reports only 33.37 percent of the details recounted by the victim while the rest was ignored. Furthermore, only 24 percent of the details of the victim were confirmed by the suspect. Lamb & Fauchier (2001) examined the effect of question type on self-contradiction in children. Children memory face limitation in the ability to remember and describe event while distinguishing between actual experiences and fantasies (Lamb & Fauchier, 2001). Furthermore, the question used to probe the mind of the child affect the accuracy of the reports. The study confirmed earlier results that suggestive questions elicit more contradiction than open-ended questions. In the study, no contradictory detail was produced by the open-ended question while suggestion and option-posing 86 percent of the contradiction. Forensic interviews accuracy also large depend on the knowledge and experts attitudes (Goodman & Melinder, 2007). Research shows that people tend to be biased to information that confirms their initial beliefs and challenges any information that contradicts their established views (Henry, Ridley, Perry, & Crane, 2011). As mentioned earlier, some the cases that involve child abuse are disclosed by another person or the victim and then the interviewer invites the victim to establish the validity of the claims. Therefore, stereotypes and belief systems can form a confirmation bias that affects the major decision in the forensic report. Hence, the accuracy of the report critically depends on the neutrality and unbiasedness of the expert. However, as the research has shown, the expert knowledge is not always accurate and consistent with scientific research (Goodman & Melinder, 2007). Generally, people assumes that scientist behavior are informed by the scientific research but research indicates that experts are not necessarily more competent in interpreting verbal and non-verbal behavior (Goodman & Melinder, 2007). However, experts tend to be confident in their response and this can be decisive in the legal system (Bertel, 2012). In conclusion, the answer to how does techniques influence accuracy is “it depends”. The eyewitness ability to recall event is controversial, complex and dependent on a range of the variable. The accuracy will depend on questioned asked, social pressure experienced, memory fade, expert’s knowledge, and belief systems. Thus, the most crucial thing is to adopt strategies that increase the chance of accurate and complete responses. Some of the strategies suggested include the use of the open-ended question, narrative approach, cognitive approach and establishing rapport between the interviewer and interviewee (Newlin et al., 2015). References Bertel, O. (2012). Let’s go to the videotape: Why the forensic interviews of children in child protective cases should be video recorded. Family Court Review, 50(2), 344–356. http://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-1617.2012.01454.x Collins, R., Lincoln, R., & Frank, M. G. (2002). The effect of rapport in forensic interviewing. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 9(1), 69–78. http://doi.org/10.1375/pplt.2002.9.1.69 Goodman, G., & Melinder, A. (2007). Child witness research and forensic interviews of young children: A review. Legal and Criminological Psychology, 12, 1–19. http://doi.org/10.1348/135532506X156620 Henry, L., Ridley, A., Perry, J., & Crane, L. (2011). Perceived credibility and eyewitness testimony of children with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 55(4), 385–391. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2788.2011.01383.x Kebbell, M., Milne, R., & Wagstaff, G. (1999). The cognitive interview: A survey of its forensic effectiveness. Psychology, Crime and Law, 5, 101–115. http://doi.org/10.1080/10683169908414996 Lamb, M. E., & Fauchier, A. (2001). The Effects of Question Type on Self-contradictions by Children in the Course of Forensic Interviews. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 15, 483–491. http://doi.org/10.1002/acp.726 Lamb, M. E., Orbach, Y., Hershkowitz, I., Horowitz, D., & Abbott, C. (2007). Does the Type of Prompt Affect the Accuracy of Information Provided by Alleged Victims of Abuse in Forensic Interviews? Applied Cognitive Psychology, 21, 1117–1130. http://doi.org/10.1002/acp Lyon, T. D., Ahern, E. C. E. C., & Scurich, N. (2012). Interviewing children versus tossing coins: accurately assessing the diagnosticity of children’s disclosures of abuse. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 21(1), 19–44. http://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2012.642468 Newlin, C., Steele, L. C., Chamberlin, A., Anderson, J., Kenniston, J., Russell, A., … Vaughan-Eden, V. (2015, September). Child Forensic Interviewing: Best Practices. Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248749.pdf Thoresen, C., Lonnum, K., Melinder, A., & Magnussen, S. (2009). Forensic Interviews with Children in CSA Cases: A Large-Sample Study of Norwegian Police Interviews. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 23, 999–1011. http://doi.org/10.1002/acp Read More

Another study conducted by Steward (1996, reported in Lyon et al. 2012), investigated whether children can remember touch or not touch in a physical examination for children aged 3 to 6 years using detail body diagram and anatomically detail dolls. The interview was conducted at one day, one month and six months after the physical examination. The direct question elicited relatively weak evidence of genital touch. However, when the interviewer used general question whether the doctor touched and if yes where?

The children did not give false reports of genital touch. The information obtained through general question provided conclusive evidence of genital touch (Lyon et al., 2012). In this study, the 3 years old performed poorly compared to six years old. Indeed use of direct questions with dolls increasing the risk of false reports in younger children. Therefore, use of yes/no questions would influence the accuracy of the evidence obtained. For example, Bruck and colleagues (1995 and 2000, reported in Lyon et al., 2012) interviewed preschool children after a pediatric examination using direct questions with aid of anatomically detailed dolls.

In the study, some of the questions were highly suggestive while others were yes-no questions. The interviewer asks if the doctor has the touched the child genital. The study found that there was no significant age difference, though the sample size was small. However, the figures suggested that probability of the touch if the indeed the child has been touched increased with age. The studies indicate that probability of a child recalling a sexual is cross to chance and hence the forensic interviews should be very careful when dealing with young children.

These studies have been criticized due to the lack of other suggestive elements in their interviews. However, study on suggestibility young children shows that children who are highly pressured for indicate abuse (Lyon et al., 2012). Therefore, suggestibility influences the accuracy of evidence obtained from children. Other major issues about the accuracy of forensic interviews occur when the interview is repeated. For example, when people are referred for an interview on sexual abuse, the interviewer questions them about the event.

Thus, the interviewer has two pieces of evidence from the same source. Bridges, Faust, and Ahern, (2009, reported in Lyon et al. 2012), suggests that the interviewer should not double count the evidence but understand that the child’s answer during the interview is dependent on the prior disclosure. If the interviewer does not recognize the redundancy, the new information though does not add any new evidence may lead to overconfidence. The interviewer may conclude that an abuse indeed occurred based on the same piece of evidence.

For the second piece of information to be truly redundant, it must not add any new information on the interviewer judgment. However, this may not be possible for several reasons, especially if the interviewer uses open-ended question (Lyon et al., 2012). First, the child in the initial disclosure interviewer is likely to give very little detail of the event. Most children first report abuse to those close to them, who many not have required knowledge to conduct forensic interviews. Secondly, if the disclosure was from interested persons, the disclosure may not be credible.

People who are interested in a child may misinterpret the information which reduces the credibility of the initial information. Thirdly, even if the initial recipient of the abuse report was not biased, the information may have been acquired direct questions, which are less credible compared to free recall. Hence, there is a huge risk if the forensic interviewer uses the initial report as confirmation of abuse. Lyon et al. (2012), document several scenarios that increase the accuracy of forensic interviews.

First, use of open-ended question yields more accurate information compared to direct questions.

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