Paper 3 - Criminal 3 - Collection of evidence using interviews Flashcards
(27 cards)
what is the difference between an interview and an interrogation
- an interview aims to psychologically manipulate a suspect into making a confession and are non accusatory following a question and answer format.
- Interrogations are accusatory, coercive and aim to discourage the suspect from talking unless they are willing to confess
Explain the background research done by Fisher
- Tested the cognitive interview in the field using interview with real witnesses conducted by 16 police detectives from the robbery division of Florida.
- 7 of them were trained in the CI technique. The interviews were recorded and analysed by a team at the university of california who were blind to the conditions.
- Fisher found that 63% more information was obtained by the detectives trained in CI than the untrained.
- They concluded that CI techniques do produce an increase in information that could help police solve crimes.
What is the Reid technique - the nine steps of interrogation
- the suspect is isolated in a small, bare, soundproof room.
- informing the suspect in a calm manner than all evidence points to their involvement in a crime
- the interrogator constructs a narratuve than justifies the suspects actions, making it easuer for them to admit guilt
- the interrogator undermines denial and encourages them to admit
- direct eye contact and physical proximity is used to keep them focused and engaged
- the interrogator appears empathetic to encourage a confession
- two guilty interpretations are presented, one is more acceptable.
- if the suspect accepts the lesser crime, the interrogator seeks full confession of the crime
- this is converted into a full writtern confession that will prove credible in court.
how can the Reid technique lead to false confessions
- confimation bias - the interrogator pressumes the suspect is guilty so interprets their behaviour in a way to meet their expectations
- willingness to comply - some suspects are more vulnerable to manipulation, e.g. memory can easily be altered
- psychological disorders - people may have distorted memories and perceptions
- youth - more complient than adults, they also may give a false confession to escape short term stress of an interrogation
what 2 studies allowed for the development of the cognitive interview
loftus and palmer
grant et al
what are the 4 components of the cognitive interview
- context reinstatement - the witness is asked to recreate the context of the crime by forming an image that may include smells, sounds, sights and objects
- report everything - the witness is asked to recall everything they can
- change order - witness is encouraged to recall events in a different order
- change perspective - the witness is asked to recall the scene from the viewpoint of a victim or criminal or other witnesses.
what type of study is Memon and Higham’s research ?
an article that reviews the cognitive interview
what are the aims of Memon an Higham’s review
make commments on the methodological issues and theoretical issues in the cognitive interview research and practical considerations
what is the findings of memon and highams review
- standard interview is typically used by the police. interviews are not standardised and have rapid fire questions and interruptions. They recommended against using this as a comparison because it is so different so cannot be a control
- guided memory interview uses contextual reinstatement like the CI. It may be a reasonable comparison for determining if CI is affective due to context reinstatement alone or a combination of techniques.
- Structured interview is non interruptive, confidence building and uses open questions. These are also relevant for the CI. However they use different techniques, e.g. structured interviews dont use context reinstatement. so the CI gains more information. it is a good control for determining the role of CI techniques
- With appropriate training, both structured interview and CI can be effective.
- measures of memory usually a percentage of accurate statments. However it ignores the amount of unreported information. So the CI tells a suspect to report everything. But the more information is given, the less accurate it becomes, however, it means theres no loss of accurate information.
- quality of training interviewers should be given adequate training in CI techniques, a 2 day training programme is best. the quality of training needs to be considered, which may be controlled by available resources. candidates who have good potential should be guided towards roles of investigative detective and poor interviewers towards other aspects.
What was Memon et al’s own research they conducted
- interviewing college students using one of the three cognitive techniques: context reinstatement, changing order and changing perspective.
- Control group was asked to ‘try harder’
- They found no significant differences across the 4 groups
- replicate it using children aged 5-9 years old
- The researcher recognised that younger children had difficulty in using the cognitive techniques and this may have reduced effectiveness.
What are Memon and Higham’s overall conclusuins
- context reinstatement is the most effective compenent of the CI, however it is not effective as the whole procedure
- for changing the order of events it is more effective to recall in forward order, then reverse order rather than making to attempts to recall from the beginning
- the effectiveness of the enchanced cognitive interview is due to improved communication between interviewer and witness. this increases information retrieval.
- however further research is needed to understand how each component of the CI increases information retrieval
- this may be partially due to how interviewers differ in their ability and motivation to conduct a good interview
evaluate the validity of this topic
- validity of research by Fisher is high because they used a blind procedure so any bias was eliminatedAdditionally, Fisher tested the CI in the field which means that research has high ecological validity. However there is no control over extraneous variables, reducing the validity.
- loftus and palmer - low ecological validity as it was done in a lab environment
- reid technique involves leading questions which affects a person’s answer meaning they do not give a truthful and accurate answer, decreasing validity of the reid technique
evaluate the reliability of this topic
- fisher = low external reliability as only done in florida - training may vary.
- the standard interview used by the police adopts a less standardised approach to interviewing, e.g. interruptions, which means testimonies are often inconsistent an less reliable.
- loftus and palmer’s study into how leading questions can affect answers was highly reliable as all pps were seeing the same videos and were given the same questionnaire’s
evaluate sampling bias of this topic
1.the samples used in research critiqued by memon and higham often use children and they struggled using CI techniques which way mean validity of the results could be questioned. However, results have been replicated with adults suggesting that it can be generalised that each of the CP, CO and RE conditions is not as effective as the full CI, though CR is more effective than the full CI in adults.
2.Fisher used 16 police detectives from florida which is a small unrepresentitive sample
3. loftus and palmer used a total of 195 students from one college which is a large sample but all students.
evaluate the ethnocentrism of this topic
- fisher used pps from florida which is unrepresenitive
- cognitive interview technique - it was developed and primarily researched in Western contexts, and its effectiveness may not be as consistent across diverse cultural backgrounds. Specifically, the technique relies on cognitive processes and memory retrieval strategies that might be less applicable to cultures with different communication styles, memory strategies, or social norms. ome cultures may be more comfortable with direct questioning and personal narratives, while others might value indirect communication and nuanced expressions.
- loftus and palmer all students from USA
evaluate the freewill/determinism debate for this topic
- determinism - Fisher - rival of information is determined by CI techniques
- freewill- CI instruction to report everything they can remember suggests freewill as the witness reports as much as they wish.
3.Loftus and Palmer - determinism - recall of an event is determined by leading questions
evaluate the usefulness of topic 3
1.research by memon and higham is very useful as it developed the PEACE framework which allows a non accusatory style of interviewing
2. Loftus and Palmer’s reserch lead to cognitive interview technique which stops leading questions, meaning that less people will be wrongfully convicted
3. Reid technique is not useful as it leads to in accurate conclusions and wrongful convictions
evaluate the ethical considerations of topic 3
1.Reid technique - interviews should be non coercive and the witness or suspect should not be placed under any stress when providing evidence, the PACE code of conduct ensures that that in the UK suspects are non coerced into confessionsThe Reid technique used in the us is confrontational and deliberately puts the suspect under pressure so is less ethical as there is less protection from harm.
2. Loftus and Palmer’s research had deception as pps didnt know they were being manipulated by leading questions
3. Memon and Higham’s research used children ages 5-9 years old when evaluating the effectiveness of isolated components of the CI - no informed consent
evaluate social sensitivity in topic 3
- strength - allows to study specific processes like cognitive interviewing
- weakness - labelling - can lead to discrimination of police that use the standard interview.
- strength - changing policies - helps develop the most efficient interview technique without leading questions.
evaluate psychology as a science in topic 3
- fisher - field experiment has high ecological validity
- loftus and palmer - reliable
- Reid technique - invalid, unreliable
what are the 2 applications of strategies for police interviews
PEACE framework
Audio recording interviews
what is PEACE framework
- Planning and preparing - interviewers should create and record a written plan, including the details of the characteristics of the interviewee and the practical arrangements for the interview
- Engage and explain - encouraging conversatioin by engaging the witness and maintaining rapport. This enables the interviewer to manage the conversation and develop lines of arguements during the interview
- Account - using open ended questions such as tell me what happened. It is important to support an acount with active listening and allowing the witness to pause with no interruptions. The interviewer should clarify and expand the account by breaking it down into managable topics and examine any information.
- Closure - this should be planned and structured so that the interview does not end abruptly. the interviewer should announce the time and date before turning off the recording equipment
- evaluation - the interviewer needs to evaluate what has been said with a view to determining how the witness’ account fitd in with the rest of the investigation
evaluate usefulness, effectiveness and practicalities of the PEACE framework
- usefulness - it is suitable for any type of interviewee. it provides an ethical way to collect evidence from witneses and suspects. It provides informationthat can lead to a prosecution or release of a innocent person, saving time, money and resources.
- effectiveness - it assumes that a suspect or witness who is lying will gradually build up a series of false explanantions that will lead to their story breaking down due to inconsistencies.
- practicalities - special training is needed for the framework to be effective. particularly the case for the Planning phase as it is regarded as the most important component. e.g. visiting the crime scene.
what happens during audio recording interviews
- making the recording - the recorder must be loaded with a new recording media which is openened infront of the suspect.
- The interviewer must explain that its being recorded, give theyr name and rank, ask the suspect to identify themselves, state the data time and place of the interview and state that the suspect will be given notice about what will happen to the recording
- ending the interview - the interviewer cautions the suspect and reminds them thay they are entitled to free legal advice. at the conclusion the time is recorded and the recording is stopped.
- the interviewer seals the recording with a label and treats it as an exhibit. they sign thr label and ask the suspect to sign it.
- A secure digital network for the recording is also used. this is a computer network system which enables original interview recordings to be stored as files.
