Collection of Cognitive Evidence (3)

Question 1

What research did Fisher conduct into the use of Cognitive Interviews?

Answer 1

• used witnesses and victims of real crimes
• provided training for 7 detectives in the robbery division of the Florida Police Department
• most interviews with victims of commercial crimes or handbag snatching
• interview performance compared with 9 detectives who didn’t receive CI training
• when analysed by researcher blind to conditions, those with CI training elicited 63% more info than the non-CI trained controls, with no loss of accuracy

Question 2

What did Fisher and Geiselman create following Fisher’s research?

Answer 2

• enhanced cognitive interview technique
• suggested that memory retrieval techniques from CI would be more effective if they were presented within a competent interview framework
• critics argue this is too prescriptive and time consuming and that these principles are not being consistently applied even when training is in place

Question 3

What does Kassin et al suggest about interrogations of suspects?

Answer 3

• interrogations are guilt presumptive processes
• the outcome is measured by gaining a confession
• for innocent suspects it is hoped that interrogators recognise innocence at some point and re-evaluate their evidence and beliefs

Question 4

What factors can prevent interrogators recognising a suspect is innocent?

Answer 4

• confirmation bias: they interpret behaviour in a way that confirms their expectations
• willingness to comply: some are more vunerable to manipulation, e.g. Gudjonsson found individuals who scored higher on a self report measure of compliance are especially vulnerable due to eagerness to please others
• psychological disorders: those with mental illnesses reported a 22% lifetime false confession rate (Redlich)

Question 5

Why was the cognitive interview technique developed?

Answer 5

• to try and elicit more detailed information from witnesses and victims than the “standard” interview technique
• “standard” is a generous term –> usually no standardised way in which police interviews conducted as officers are free to “ask whatever questions they feel relevant, frequently interrupt, ask short-answer questions and follow inappropriate sequences of questioning” (Brewer 2009)

Question 6

What are the four main principles of the cognitive interview technique?

Answer 6

1. Context Reinstatement

• encouraging interviewees to recall environmental details: based on Grant’s context dependent memory

2. In Depth Reporting

• interviewees asked to tell the story of what happened in as much detail as possible

3. Narrative Re-ordering

• witnesses are asked to recall the story again in a different order

4. Reporting from Different Perspectives

• witnesses asked to tell the story again from different perspectives

Question 7

What did Memon and Higham suggest about the components of CI in their review?

Answer 7

1. Context reinstatement - encourages participants to use cues to recall, making it the most effective technique
2. In depth reporting - useful for the overall investigation but doesn’t significantly enhance the testimony of a single witness
3. Narrative re-ordering - can be effective with one forward and one backward recall attempt but further research is needed
4. Different perspectives - recall can confuse witnesses and lead to false testimony

Overall, further research isolating components with adult samples is needed.

Question 8

What are the key factors of PEACE interviews?

Answer 8

• Preparation and planning: may including collating what is already known, plotting a timeline etc.
• Engage and explain: establishing a rapport with the witness and explain the purpose of the interview
• Account, clarify and challenge: allow interviewee to give account without interuption, summarise info and use open questions to clarify unclear info
• Closure: reinforce rapport to promote future contact, provide contact details
• Evaluation: establish whether everything that was required has been covered, whether there were inconsistencies that have not been checked

Question 9

Is the PEACE interview technique effective?

Answer 9

• effective as it assumes that a suspect or witness who is lying will gradually build up a series of false explanations that will lead to their story breaking down
• framework is effective as without accounts of those who were at the centre of a crime, other sources such as CCTV and fingerprints may have little value in bringing the culprit to justice

Question 10

What is forensic hypnosis and is it effective?

Answer 10

• based on the assumption that witnesses may be able to retrieve info under hypnosis that was not otherwise available to them
• critics argue it puts witnesses in a suggestible state where they can be easily mislead
• e.g. Kalat (1993): boy whose mother disappeared said he had seen his father chop up her body - he was sentenced to life in prison but was released a few months later when she reappeared unharmed