Interviewing and PEACE Flashcards
What does the acronym PEACE stand for?
Planning and preparation
Engage and explain
Account
Closure
Evaluation
What are the four core skills of interviewing?
- Planning and preparation
- Active listening
- Rapport building
- Questioning (and comprehensive note taking)
What are the key elements of the ‘A’ stage of the PEACE model when interviewing a victim/witness (cooperative)
ACCOUNT:
- obtain initial account
- expand initial account (i.e. get them to repeat in detail if their first version wasn’t very detailed)
- identify and probe focal points
- review back to the interviewee and confirm correct
*during this phase, try to avoid closed or leading questions. Employ the 5Ws + H, TEDS
What are the key elements of the ‘C’ stage of the PEACE model
CLOSURE:
- compile written statement based on interviewee’s account
- have them sign the statement
- ask witness if they have any questions
What are the key elements of the ‘Evaluate’ stage of the PEACE model?
EVALUATION:
- were the interview objectives achieved?
- how does the account provided fit with the other evidence already obtained?
- further actions and enquiries
- improvements for next time
What questions should you generally start an interview with?
TEDS:
- Tell me…
- Explain to me…
- Describe to me…
- Show me…
What does the acronym ADVOKAT stand for and when is it used?
The acronym is used to assess how reliable an eyewitness identification of a person is.
A - amount of time under observation
D - distance
V - visibility conditions (e.g. will lit)
O - obstructions
K - known (was person known to the viewer)
A - any reason to notice
T - time elapsed beween sighting and now
What are the steps involved in the ‘A’ stage of the PEACE model when interviewing a suspect? (also known as the conversation management model)
- put allegation to suspect
- suspect’s agenda: give suspect opportunity to provide their version of events without challenging.
- police agenda: probe areas where inculpatory evidence exists; offer chance for them to provide innocent explanation, without revealing evidence
- challenge: confirm suspect account then provide contradictory evidence and challenge
What are the 4 possible outcomes when offering a suspect an opportunity to participate in an interview?
- they decline
- they agree to notebook interview
- they agree to ERISP interview back at station
- you arrest and charge
What are the 6 closing questions when interviewing a suspect?
- Is there anything you further wish to say?
- Have your answers to my questions been made of your own free will?
- Has any threat, promise or offer of advantage been held out to you during this
conversation? - Will you now read aloud my record of our conversation?
- Is it a correct record of our conversation?
- Will you now sign my police notebook as a correct record of our
conversations?
What are the steps involved in the ‘P’ stage of the PEACE model?
PREPARE AND PLAN
Background information
- review what’s known so far about the event/incident
- review what’s known about the interviewee’s character (e.g. likely to be cooperative?)
Plan
- what are the objectives of the interview (missing elements of offence, test possible defences, identify new lines of enquiry)
Legal considerations
- is the interviewee entitled to an interpreter/support person due to their age/ATSI/CALD/disability status?
- is the person exercising their right to have a legal representative present?
Admin considerations
- location and timing of interview
- most appropriate interviewer (e.g. detective for sexual assualt)
- equipment
What are the steps involved in the ‘Engage and Explain’ stage of the PEACE model?
ENGAGE
o Make interviewee comfortable
o Move to an appropriate location if in field
o Build rapport
EXPLAIN
o The format of the interview and the process of it
o The implications of giving a statement (endorsement)
o Why the person is being interviewed
