Improving EWT: cognitive interviews eval

Question 1

CI is time consuming

Answer 1

Police reluctant to use CI because it more time consuming than standard police interview. e.g. more time is needed to establish rapport and allow witness to relax. Kebbell and Wagstaff argues that CI needs special training and forces have not been able to provide more than an hour. Limitation as proper version is not used and police are not impressed by it

Question 2

Some elements may be more valuable than others

Answer 2

Milne and Bull found that each element of CI was valuable and produced more info than standard police interview. However a combination of report everything and reinstate context produced better recall. Strength as at least some elements can be used to improve interviews of EW even if it is not fully used. Increases credibility

Question 3

Support for the effectiveness of the ECI

Answer 3

Meta analysis by Kohnken et al combined data from 50 studies and found that ECI was better and produced most accurate recall than standard. Strength because it shows there are practical benefits of using ECI and it increases the chances of catching and charging criminals which is beneficial for society.

Question 4

Quality over quantity

Answer 4

CI is designed to enhance the quantity of correct recall without compromising the quality. Kohnken et al found that 81% increase of correct information but also 61% increase of incorrect info when the ECI was compared to standard interview. Limitation as police need to treat all info collected from CI with caution as accuracy isn’t guaranteed.