Crime topic 3

Question 1

What was the PEACE model for interviewing seen as?

Answer 1

a model of best practice for interviewing and the help prevent false confessions

Question 2

What does the P in PEACE stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 2

preparation and planning
Interviewers are encouraged to plan their interviews carefully. E.g. a timeline of what is already known, collating all the information and setting out objectives

Question 3

What does the E in PEACE stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 3

Engage and explain - Interviewers need to engage with the witness, they need to form a rapport with them rather than simply sitting down and firing questions at them

Question 4

What does the A in PEACE stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 4

Account, clarification, challenge
Should first allow witness to give their account of the event with no interruption - use open questions, summarise information. By challenging these statements, the interviewer can identify inconsistencies or deceptions

Question 5

What does the C in PEACE stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 5

Closure
Should close down tge interview appropriately reinforce the rapport and ensure continued cooperation

Question 6

What does the second E in PEACE stand for and what does it mean?

Answer 6

Evaluation
Interviewer needs to evaluate the interview
They need to establish whether everything that was required had been covered or if they were any inconsistencies that were not followed up

Question 7

What was the sample of Mann’s study?

Answer 7

99 Kent police officers, 24 females and 75 males - mean age of 34.3

Question 8

What was the aim of Mann’s study?

Answer 8

To test police officer’s ability to distinguish lies and truths during police interviews with suspects

Question 9

What were the results of Mann’s study?

Answer 9

Mean lie accuracy (66.2%), mean truth accuracy (63.6%
Experience in interviewing was correlated with truth accuracy
The most frequently mentioned cue to detect lying was gaze, second was movement; vagueness, contradictions and fidgeting

Question 10

What were the conclusions of Mann’s study?

Answer 10

Levels of accuracy found exceeded those in other studies and are highest for a group of ordinary police officers
more experience = better at lie detecting
good lie detectors rely more on strong cues than the more popular stereotypical belief that liars give themselves away my covering the mouth or fidgeting

Question 11

What was the procedure of Mann’s study?

Answer 11

Participants asked to judge truthfulness of people in real life police interviews - watched video clips of 14 suspects showing head and torso
the 54 clips ranged between 6 and 145 seconds
Police officers began filling out a questionnaire about their experience in detecting lies. They watched the clips and after each indicated whether they thought it was a lie or truth and how confident they felt about each one

Question 12

What is the Reid interrogation method based on?

Answer 12

The assumption that if you provide an unpleasant enough environment for the suspect they will give a confession to escape the situation and that an innocent person will never confess, no matter the pressure

Question 13

Outline the 9 step interrogation programme - not the actual steps

Answer 13

Designed to increase the suspects anxiety while decreasing the perceived consequences of confessing. It is expected that he suspect will move from the initial belief that confessing is the worst thing he can do to a belief that it is acceptable

Question 14

Outline the 9 step interrogation programme (doesn’t need to be in order)

Answer 14

Direct positive confrontation
Theme development
Handling denial
Overcoming objections - acknowledging their actions
Procurement an retention of suspects attention
Handling suspect’s passive mood
Presenting an alternative question
Having the suspect verbally relate detains of the offence

Question 15

What did Gudjonsson argue about interrogation techniques?

Answer 15

They lead to false confessions where innocents claim they are guilty due to the psychological pressure put on them during interrogation

Question 16

According to Gudjonsson, what are the four factors which increase the likelihood of false confessions?

Answer 16

The interrogation
Mental state
The arrest
The suspect

Question 17

According to Gudjonsson, How can the interrogation lead to false confessions?

Answer 17

Coercive, biased or leading interview tactics can increase chance or false confessions

Question 18

According to Gudjonsson, How can the suspect lead to false confessions?

Answer 18

False confessions are more likely from very young, very old, those with low IQ and those with mental health issues

Question 19

According to Gudjonsson, How can the arrest lead to false confessions?

Answer 19

When arrested at night, suddenly or violently or interrogated for long periods at night

Question 20

According to Gudjonsson, How can Mental state lead to false confessions?

Answer 20

False confessions are more likely when suspect is stressed, anxious, ill or intoxicated

Question 21

What is an example related to Gudjonsson’s study which demonstrated flase confessions?

Answer 21

Birmingham 6 - false confession from people suspected of carrying out IRA bombing in 70s - were in prison for 10 years before the conviction was overturned

Question 22

What were the 4 sections of Memon and Higham’s article?

Answer 22

1. The effectiveness of various components of cognitive interview
2. Comparison interviews
3. Measures of memory
4. Quality of training

Question 23

What did Memon and Higham suggest about measures of memory?

Answer 23

CI uses simplistic measures of memory performance - don’t allow for predictions about how the CI might influence memory monitoring e.g. might not give all information if not 100% certain about it

Question 24

What were the conclusions of Memon and Higham’s article?

Answer 24

Although CI is an exciting development it is unclear how the elements of the CI work and which are effective. A suitable control group to compare CI needs to be established
When researching CI and training officers other issues need to be taken into account sch as interviewer variability in terms of attitude, prior interview experience and performance and motivation

Question 25

What did Memon and Higham suggest about Quality of training?

Answer 25

CI trained officers did not elicit more info from witnesses and showed poor practice
Potentially because of resistance to training because of ‘outsider’ trainer
Suggested 2 days of training should be offered - officers should be selected by their potential, but this assumes poor interviewers won’t benefit from training and that training will improve already good interviewers

Question 26

What did Memon and Higham suggest about context reinstatement?

Answer 26

Used alone this obtains as much info as the complete CI process

Question 27

What did Memon and Higham suggest about recall from different perspectives?

Answer 27

a problem here is possible fabrication of data by witnesses or confusion. Police tend not to use this element in practice but Milne found evidence that it can produce as much accurate info as other CI techniques but does not increase the amount of info recalled.

Question 28

What did Memon and Higham suggest about recall in different temporal orders?

Answer 28

It is more effective to recall in forwards order once and then in reverse, rather than making 2 attempts at recall from the beginning

Question 29

What were the four parts of the cognitive interview?

Answer 29

1. Report everything
2. Recall in different temporal orders
3. Context reinstatement
4. Recall from different perspectives

Question 30

What were the key points of the enhanced congnitive interview?

Answer 30

More structured framework
Establishing a rapport with the witness
Should be informed of what is expected of them

Question 31

What are the criticisms of the cognitive interview?

Answer 31

Time consuming
Takes longer to train someone
Is it often delivered poorly