Ethical Interview Flashcards
What is the reasoning behind the ethical interview? (2 points)
Interrogation is no longer intimidating - it’s now supportive and works with the person to gain as much information as possible
Manipulation is no longer used as it leads to more false confessions and wrongful convictions
What are the 5 stages of the ethical interview?
Planning and preparation
Explain and engage
Account, clarification and challenge
Closure
Evaluate
What is ‘Planning and preparation’, the first stage of the ethical interview? (4 points)
The interviewer must be aware of all aspects of the investigation
Characteristics of the interviewee (age, culture, background) should be considered
Aims and objectives of the interview should be planned
Interview location considered e.g. in a private room with a two-way mirror
What is ‘Explain and engage’, the second stage of the ethical interview? (3 points)
The reason for the investigation and arrest is clearly explained alongside the objectives
The interviewer must also have good communication skills by using appropriate tone and non-verbal communication
Goal: develop rapport through empathy to encourage conversation
What is ‘Account, clarification and challenge’, the third stage of the ethical interview? (3 points)
Questions should be short, simple and open-ended as leading and multiple questions are ineffective
An account of what occurred should be obtained by using prompts like “please tell me more”
The interviewer must remain bias-free and professional by not interrupting the interviewee
What is ‘Closure’, the fourth stage of the ethical interview? (3 points)
What was discussed should be accurately summarised
The interviewee should be made aware of when the interview is coming to an end before it does
The interview should not end abruptly to prevent distress
What is ‘Evaluate’, the fifth stage of the ethical interview? (3 points)
Interviewer should:
+ Evaluate the interview in terms of whether they achieved their aims
+ Decide whether any further action is required
+ Reflect on their interview practice
What are the 2 supporting and 3 refuting arguments for the ethical interview’s use to collect EWTs?
Strengths:
Kebbell et al (2010)
Holmberg & Christianson (2002)
Weaknesses:
Walsh & Milne (2010)
Are interviews ever solely just EIs?
Yerkes-Dodson law
How do Kebbell (2010) support the ethical interview?
Found that EI techniques and humility are more likely to get a genuine confession compared to interviewer dominance tactics
How is Kebbell (2010) limited as a study? (2 points)
Questionnaires were used - participants may have lied/exaggerated their answers
This would have led to social desirability bias, lowering internal validity
How do Holmberg and Christianson (2002) support the ethical interview? (3 points)
They studied police interviews with murderers and sexual offenders
Found that:
+ Interviews characterized by intimidation dominance from the police were associated with the most denials
+ Interviews with respect and a positive attitude were more associated with confessions
How does Walsh & Milne (2010) challenge the ethical interview? (4 points)
They found that:
+ Interviewers trained in ethical interviewing were not good at building the rapport required
+ The planning component was not being used correctly in the real world
They proposed that:
+ Ethical interviewers need to have more training to improve
+ Lack of training and subsequently lack of rapport with the interviewee may negatively affect a correct confession, despite ethical intentions
Perhaps the PEACE model is difficult and time-consuming for people to follow
There may be practical limitations in cases where the police need to collect evidence quickly
How do interviews not necessarily just being ethical interviews challenge the ethical interview? (4 points)
The extent to which police interviewers use just EI techniques, as opposed to other interview techniques, is questionable
Police will be trained in multiple interview techniques such as the CI, which features Free Recall and Contextual Reinstatement
Ethical Interviewers are likely to unconsciously employ the practices whilst conducting an EI, especially within the account, clarification and challenge phase
Suggests that a valid judgement can’t be made on whether the ethical interview alone is useful to collect EWT
How does the Yerkes-Dodson Inverted-U theory of stress and recall challenge the ethical interview? (3 points)
Could be argued that using intimidation techniques in interviews is sometimes appropriate
The Yerkes Dodson Law describes the relationship between stress and recall accuracy as an inverted U - a little stress/arousal improves recall accuracy up to a point
This means that the EI, which advocates treating witnesses with respect, may not be the best practice for gaining the most accurate episodic memory recall
