FPSYC3400: Investigative Interviewing: Witnesses & Suspects (Definition)

Lecture 11

Geiselman & Fisher: The Cognitive Interview (CI)

A method of interviewing witnesses to enhance the correct recall of information

• Cognitive psychology roots

The Enhanced Cognitive Interview (ECI)

to obtain the interviewee’s recollection of the events of interest with the aim of being given the fullest possible account. The witness is asked to think back and mentally relive events, initiallywith minimum interference from the interviewer. An interactive practicalexamination of a case scenario highlighting key elements of the PEACE approach.

Mental Context Reinstatement

surroundings, emotions & thoughts

• Interviewee: to mentally reconstruct the physical and personal context that existed at the time of the crime

• Interviewer: can help the witness by asking them to form a mental image or impression of the environmental aspects of the original scene

• to comment on their emotional reactions and feelings

• to describe any sounds, smells, and physical conditions that were present

Interview

• Non-accusatory

• Dialogue –question and answer format

• Goals

  • Elicit investigative and behavioural information

  • Assess the subject’s truthfulness

  • Profile the subject for possible interrogation

• Note-taking following each response

Interrogation

• Accusatory

• Monologue – discourage the suspect from talking until ready to tell the truth

• Goals

  • Elicit the truth

  • Obtain a court-admissible confession if it is believed that the suspect is guilty

• No note-taking until after the suspect has told the truth

Reid Technique

A method of questioning subjects to try to assess their credibility and to extract confessions of guilt from a suspect

• Under this technique, interrogation is an accusatory process in which the investigator tells the suspect that there is not doubt as to his or her guilt

  • Guilt-presumptive process

Reid Technique - Maximization

• Inflate perceived seriousness of crime

• Accusation, confrontation

• Ex: “You know what you did was inexcusable. I've never seen such an open and shut case. And I'll tell you something else. The victim was well liked in this area, and people are extremely upset and want answers.”

Reid Technique - Minimization

• Minimizing the moral seriousness of the offense or minimizing the suspect’s blameworthiness

• Face-saving excuses, appeals to self-interest, shifting blame

• Ex: “You’re not a bad person. What I’d guess is that you’re a good guy who needed some extra money and just made a mistake. And I can understand that.”

PEACE Model

• Investigative interview

• Information gathering

• Open-mindedness

Coerced-compliant Confession

coercive interrogation tactics

Voluntary Confesion

no prompting by the police

Investigative Interview

an interaction that occurs between an investigator or two and a person that is believed to possess knowledge related to an event of interest

Exposure Duration

longer exposure duration generally increases eyewitnesses accuracy

Race

less accurate at identifying people of a different race than those of their own race

Retention Interval

a longer retention interval or the time between the event and the memory test, generally decreases eyewitness accuracy and weakens the relationship between eyewitnesses. confidence and their actual accuracy

Confidence

not always a reliable indicator of accuracy as individuals can be highly competent in incorrect identifications

• some research shows a strong correlation between confidence and accuracy under perfect conditions, this link is often weaker in real world scenarios due to poor conditions, suggestive questioning or other factors

Report Everything

ask the interviewee to report everything

• this may well facilitate the recall of information by shifting criteria for reporting information

• Example: witness are encouraged to report in full without screening on anything consider to be irrelevant or or which they only have partial recall

• as they provide more detail, their judgement becomes more credible from the interview and in the courtroom

Variety of Perspectives

the aim is to increase the amount of detail elicited

Variety of Orders

instructs interviewees to make multiple retrieval attempts from different starting points

• Ex: recalling an event from the end or the middle or from the most memorable point in time

Rapport Building

an attempt to get to know the witness a bit, clarify what the expectations are, and generally put the person at ease

Third Degree Tactics

interview tactics that are physical and psychological abuse methods to elicit a confession from a suspect

• common in late 19th and early 20th centuries, now illegal

Right to silence

an individual right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement or core officials

• prevents adverse inferences from being drawn solely from their silence

Right to legal counsel

a constitutional right in Canada that ensure anyone arrested or detained has the right to a lawyer without delay

• police must stop questioning a detained person until they have the chance to speak with a lawyer

Voluntariness - Reliability

• threats or promises (that may suggest leniency, pragmatic implications)

• oppression (escape harsh treatment)

Voluntariness - Fairness

• operating mind (injury, impairment, hypnotized)

• police trickery (that would shock the community)

Planning & Preparation

• how information contributes to the investigation

• learn about the interviewee

• investigative objectives

• timeline of events

• prepare for the interview

Engage and Explain

• engage in the interviewee in conversation

  • personalizing the interview and continuously acting in a professional and considerate manner

  • foster an atmosphere in which they will want to talk

• explain what will happen during the interview

  • understanding the purpose

  • deliver the required police cautions to ensure they understand their legal rights

  • explain the route map and the various practical routines that will be followed and establish expectation and ground rules

Account for clarification & challenge

• asking an intial-open ended question

• (after the interviewee completes a free narrative) Identify topics from the narrative and probe the account

• uncooperative witnesses and victims may be challenged

Closure

• check that the interview objectives have been met

  • ensure questions have all been asked

• summarize main points

• provide interviewees the opportunity to correct or add information

• explain what will happen in the future

• Interviewers also consider the effect of new information on the investigation and how this information is consistent with the available investigative evidence

Evaluation

• Interviewers are encouraged to conduct self-evaluations of their performance

• Supervisors are taught to provide constructive feedback as part of a routine or interviewer-requested performance evaluations

1. Intelligence Probe

an undercover officer replaces the suspect under surveillance together intimate details about their life, friends, family, work, lifestyle to use this information to tailor the officer’s approach and behaviour to match the targets, preferences and interests

2. Introduction

an undercover officer makes contact with the suspect, through a seemingly chance encounter and evangels them into a fictious but powerful criminal organization

3. Scenario Development

the suspect is involved in a series of simulated jobs for the organization starting small such as delivering parcels and escalating in difficulty and responsibility

• participate in lavish social events to build credibility, wealth, power of the fake organization

• develops a strong relationship and sense of loyalty between the target an the undercover operatives

4. Evidentiary Scenario

the operation culminates in a meeting with the boss of the organization (Mr. Big)

• the suspect is informed of their past crime, which the police are formally investigating, poses as a threat to the organization

• to secure the organizations help in making the charged disappear

• suspect must confess the details of the original crime to Mr. Big