Area 3 - forensic Flashcards
what approach is area 3
cognitive
what is area 3
collection of evidence from witnesses and suspects
if you are suspected to a crime and the police arrest you what do they say in the UK
you do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you may later rely on in court, anything you do say may be given as evidence
what do the FBI say when they arrest someone in America
you have the right to remain silent, anything you do say can and will be used against you in the court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford one, one will be appointed for you.
what is are the features of an interview that make it an interview
conversation- dialogue-2 people- don’t have to reply with an answer
recorded x3
no accusatory- gathers data and starts new paths
psychologically manipulates suspect
assesses subjects truthfulness
how does interrogation differ from an interview
repeating questions until they answer- if not prods/abuse given
monologue- police fire at them
accusing them
obtain confession
what is the Reid technique and where was it used
9 steps to an interview and interrogation - US
what is the first stage of the Reid technique
positive confrontation- confront with strong assertion of guilt with incriminating evidence e.g. “we know you have done this because”
what is the second stage of the Reid technique
theme development- minimise seriousness of offence by offering justifications in a way to get truth e.g. you took the money because you needed it for food”
what is the third stage of the Reid technique
handling denials- interrupt denials and watch for signals that they are going to deny
what is the fourth stage of the Reid technique
overcoming objections- overcome any moral/emotional objections on why/why not they would have committed crime e.g. government
what is the fifth stage of the Reid technique
procurement and retention of suspects attention- once objections are turned down to prove guilt, more forward in body language
what is the sixth stage of the Reid technique
handling suspects passive mood- show sympathy so there reengaged- cry infers guilt
what is the seventh stage of the Reid technique
presenting an alternative question- two guilt interpretations for crime- one more socially acceptable- suspect chooses easier one
what is the eight stage of Reid technique
getting suspect to confess orally- preliminary admission- then seek detail about crime
what is the ninth stage of Reid technique
oral to written confession- converted into full written confession detailing what, how, why that will be credible in court
what is a way of remembering order
all the horse owners ride so amazingly on Wednesdays
what is a problem interrogation can lead to
false confessions
what did Kassin say about interrogation
guilt presumptive process that’s outcome is a confession so hopefully those who are innocent are detected at some point so questioned reliability- interrogator should re evaluate their beliefs.
how can conformation bias lead to false confessions
look for things to support belief
interrogators are unlikely to re evaluate beliefs- look for evidence to prove their guilty to get confession
how can willingness to comply lead to false confessions
some people are more vulnerable because of eagerness to please others and avoid confrontation
how can age lead to false confessions
immature development- impulsive
don’t like confrontation - don’t understand
older- cognitive decline
how can psychological disorders lead to false confessions
distorted memories/ perceptions
what did Gudjonsson specialise in and his belief
false confessions- police coerced false confessions in case of IRA bombings of Birmingham six - sentence to life in prison but sentence got overturned even with 4 signing confession
he believes there are 4 factors surrounding confession that need to be investigated
what were the 4 factors Gudjonsson suggests needs investigating
the defendant - false confessions often come form very young/old, low IQ, mental health sufferers
arrest- night or interrogated for long periods- more false confessions
mental/physical state- suspect stressed, ill, intoxicated- confession unreliable
interrogation- coercive, biased or leading interview tactics can encourage vulnerable suspects to make false confessions
how do police usually get inforamtion from witness
standard interview = rapid fire questions with frequent interruptions
what is a weakness of standard interviews
too standardised - less detail
what was the difference about recall of L+P and grant
grant- improvement of recall
L+P- accuracy of recall
how did L+P and grant theories develop the cognitive interview
grant- context reinstatement- put them back in senses
L+P-order change to prevent them from expecting what happens next
what did Bartlett study
‘ghost stories’- people confabulate and reconstruct memories based on what they expect to happen
what was fisher and Geiselman’s technique and how did they say it should be used
bring them back to crime scene using 4 components: context reinstatement, report everything, recall from changed perspective, recall in different order - should be used as a toolbox not a recipe - chosen for scenario
what was the aim of Fisher and Geiselman
teste CI in real interviews with witnesses
what was the sample of fisher and Geiselman
16 police detectives from robbery division of Dade county, Florida - 7 were trained in CI technique
what was the procedure of fisher and Geiselman
interviews were recorded and analysed by a team at Uni of California who were blind to conditions (didn’t know who were trained detectives)
what did fisher and Geiselman find and conclude
63% more information was gathered from detectives who were trained in CI than those who weren’t
concluded that CI can gain extra information
what is the enhanced cognitive interview that fisher and Geiselman
get social dynamic right- personalise the interview and build rapport
communication and control- witness takes control and reports everything
free report and context reinstatement
open ended questions
introduce important questions
closure for witness -leave them in positive mind
interviewer evaluate interview
what is the background of Memon and Higham
fisher- training detectives to use cognitive interview and found there was increased recall and 90% accuracy so suggested the cognitive interview is better than the standard interview
what was the aim of Memon and Higham
to review the CI based on 4 areas
- different components
- measures of intelligence
-comparing CI with other interview techniques
- effect of training quality
what was the method of Memon and Higham
review article discussing 4 aims, considering theoretical and methodological issues
what is the sample of Memon and Higham
studies and articles used
what was reviewed about the different components of CI
context reinstatement - get witness to form image in there head so they reconstruct the physical and personal contents of the crime- main component for increasing recall
report everything- even if they consider it irrelevant it might be valuable when putting the crime together
recall in variety of perspectives- place them selves in shoes of victim or another witness and report what they could have seen to increase detail- however this could confuse the witness
retrieval from different starting points- changes retrieval description to add more detail- 2nd most important for improved recall
what did they say about GMI compared to CI
GMI- guided memory is most similar to CI so best to compare as encourages witness to mentally reinstate context and requires interviewer to produce
Malpas and Devine- staged act of vandalism then 5 months later children where guided and probed on full description on what happened
what did they say about standard compared to CI
not good comparison as standard is rapid fire, frequent interruption which CI don’t don’t
large individual differences in standard interview as no training
cognitive requires specialised training
what did they say about structured interview compared to CI
build rapport by giving them plenty time to respond and give descriptions
a lot of these factors are found in CI, however CI has a lot more factors
both require training
what is the enhanced interview
combines 4 features with other strategies and all work interactively , e.g., building rapport will make witnesses more relaxed.
suggests effectiveness is due to improved communication to access the information
what did Memon and Higham say about quality training
relies a lot on the interviewer so likely differences in attitudes, motives or prior experience can effect results obtained
interviewer should be given adequate training in CI techniques - 2 day programme
select training to those interviewers as others won’t benefit from training
how is memory measured according to Memon and Higham
percentage of correct statements or number of correct/ incorrect statements
what is PEACE framework
planning- most important phase where they should create an interview plan
Engage/explain- establish and maintain rapport - allows interviewer to develop lines of argument
Account/clarification/challenge- open ended prompts like ‘tell me what happened’
active listening- allow them to say what they want without interruption
break it down
Closure- planned so it doesn’t end abruptly , e.g., announcing date and time before turning recording equipment off
Evaluation- interviewer needs time to evaluate to see if account fits into rest of evaluation
how is PEACE framework useful
more ethical way of collecting data
saves time as convictions can be secured faster
assumes suspect who is lying will build up series of fake explanations that eventually lead to their story breaking down due to inconsistencies
special training needed especially to plan and prepare e.g., specialists to crime scene
outline the start process of audio recording interviews
when suspect is brought to room the recorder is turned on and new media is loaded when suspect is there
interviewer should tell suspect about recording process and point out the sign that shows the recording equipment is active
- give their name and rank
ask suspect/ anyone else there to identify themselves
state time, date and place
outline the ending of an audio recording of interviews
interviewer reminds them of free legal advice
at conclusion , including taking and reading back of any written statement, time is recorded and stopped
seals master recording specific to that exhibit and signed by them and suspect
how are audio tape recordings considered useful and any problems
safeguard suspects
accurate record of interview than note taking and avoid any unnecessary disputes on what was said
recording equipment may fail and tape replaced but if it can’t it needs to be authorised
