Paper 3 - Criminal 3 - Collection of evidence using interviews Flashcards
1
Q
what is the difference between an interview and an interrogation
A
- an interview aims to psychologically manipulate a suspect into making a confession and are non accusatory following a question and answer format.
- Interrogations are accusatory, coercive and aim to discourage the suspect from talking unless they are willing to confess
2
Q
Explain the background research done by Fisher
A
- Tested the cognitive interview in the field using interview with real witnesses conducted by 16 police detectives from the robbery division of Florida.
- 7 of them were trained in the CI technique. The interviews were recorded and analysed by a team at the university of california who were blind to the conditions.
- Fisher found that 63% more information was obtained by the detectives trained in CI than the untrained.
- They concluded that CI techniques do produce an increase in information that could help police solve crimes.
3
Q
What is the Reid technique - the nine steps of interrogation
A
- the suspect is isolated in a small, bare, soundproof room. The interrogator confronts the suspect with a strong assertion of guilt, accumpanied by evidence
- The interrogator urges truth telling and minimised the seriousness of the event.
- the interrogator interupts any denial efforts
- the interrogator aims to overcome the suspects moral, factual and emotional objections.
- if the suspect respond to pressure with passive withdrawl, he must regain the suspects attention
- this is done by showing sympathy and understanding
- two guilty interpretations are presented, one more acceptable.
- if the suspect accepts the lesser crime, the interrogator seeks full confession of the crime
- this is converted into a full writtern confession that will prove credible in court.
4
Q
Why can interrogations lead to false confessions
A
- confirmation bias - interrogators interpret the behaviour of the suspect in a way that confirms their expectations .
- willingness to comply - some suspects are more vulnerable to manipulation so are more likely to please others by confessing
- psychological disorders- people are more suseptible to making false confessions due to distorted memories and perceptions
- youth - children are more compliant and not focused on long term consequences so are more likely to confess to escape the stressful interrogation
5
Q
what 2 studies allowed for the development of the cognitive interview
A
loftus and palmer
grant et al
6
Q
what are the 4 components of the cognitive interview
A
- context reinstatement - the witness is asked to recreate the context of the crime by forming an image that may include smells, sounds, sights and objects
- report everything - the witness is asked to recall everything they can
- change order - witness is encouraged to recall events in a different order
- change perspective - the witness is asked to recall the scene from the viewpoint of a victim or criminal or other witnesses.
7
Q
what type of study is Memon and Higham’s research ?
A
an article that reviews the cognitive interview
8
Q
what are the aims of Memon an Higham’s review
A
- aimed to make comments on the theoretical and methodological issues to be considered in cognitive interview research and the practical considerations relating to the use of cognitive interview in the field.
9
Q
What was Memon et al’s own research they conducted
A
- interviewing college students using one of the three cognitive techniques: context reinstatement, changing order and changing perspective.
- Control group was asked to ‘try harder’
- They found no significant differences across the 4 groups
- This shows that there is no single component of the cogntive interview that is more affective than another.
10
Q
How did Memon et al replicate the research on children
A
- using children aged 5-9 years old
- The researcher recognised that younger children had difficulty in using the cognitivr techniques and this may have reduced effectiveness.
11
Q
what was founf about context reinstatement
A
research wih adults found that context reinstatement provides most recall information and is the single most effective components of the CI (Milne)
12
Q
what was concluded about the standard interview as a comparison to CI
A
- refers to the technique typically used by the police. there area number of undesirable characteristics associated with the standrad interview such as rapid fire questions and frequent interruptions.
- Memon and Higham recommended against using the standard interview as a comparison group to evaluate the efficiency of CI because it is so different from the CI and does not provide an appripriate control
13
Q
what was concluded about the guided memory interview as a comparison for the CI
A
- draws upon principles of contextual reinstatement as does the CI and by encouraging the witness to recall different contexts, it guides their memory.
- The GMI may be a reasonal comparison for determining whether CI efects can be attributed to context reinstatement alone of whether a combination of cognitive techniques are responsible for the effects.
- Memon and Higham suggested a more appropriate control would be a procedure that achieves good rapport with the witness without the use of any special memory tecniques
14
Q
what were the conclusions for structured interview as a comparison for the CI
A
- structured interviewers build rapport with the witness to ptovide an opportunity for narrative descriptions of a crime and to provide time for interviewees to respond.
- It is non interruptive, confidence building and uses open questions.
- Many of these aspects are also present in the CI.
- however they use different cognitive techniques.
- Memon and Higham believe that with appropraite training both CI and SI interviewers can be effective.
- However because the sole differences between the use of cognitive techniques in CI, the SI provides a reasonable good control for determining the role of CI technques
15
Q
what are Memon and Higham’s conclusions for measures of memory
A
- Majority of research measures memory performance as the percentage of correct statements, however, this does not consider the amount and nature of the unreported information.
- Lab studies show that people report more information than they ,ight in a standard interview, so it may be that the CI is changing the interviewees understanding of what the interviewer wants.
16
Q
What suggestions did Memon and Highan make for the training in the use of CI
A
- interviewers should be given adequate training in CI techniques, a 2 day programme is best
- The quality of the training needs to be considered, which may be governed by available resources
- Candidates who have the potential to become good interviewers should be guided towards the role of investigative detective and poor interviewers toward other sepects of police work. However this assumes that poor interviewers will not benefit from training
17
Q
What are Memon and Higham’s overall conclusuins
A
- Research into the effectiveness of the CI remains inconclusive and there is a need for further research investiagting the particular effects of CI on memory
- Further research is neede don how the various elements of CI work
- It is not yet clear hoe the CI relates to other interviewing procedures and what would make a suitable control group.
- Interviewers differ in their ability and motivation to conduct a good interview and this variable may affect any comparisons made between the CI and SI for example.
18
Q
evaluate the validity of this topic
A
- validity of research by Fisher is high because they used a blind procedure so any bias was eliminatedAdditionally, Fisher tested the CI in the field which means that research has high ecological validity. However there is no control over extraneous variables, reducing the validity.
- loftus and palmer - low ecological validity as it was done in a lab environment
- reid technique involves leading questions which affects a person’s answer meaning they do not give a truthful and accurate answer, decreasing validity of the reid technique
19
Q
evaluate the reliability of this topic
A
- the standardised approach o the CI of collecting evidence means that the witness testimonies collected by Fisher are reliable. They used interviews conducted by police detectives - all of whom were following the CI protocol.
- In contrast the standard interview used by the police adopts a less standardised approach to interviewing, e.g. interruptions, which means testimonies are often inconsistent an less reliable.
- loftus and palmer’s study into how leading questions can affect answers was highly reliable as all pps were seeing the same videos and were given the same questionnaire’s
20
Q
evaluate sampling bias of this topic
A
1.the samples used in research critiqued by memon and higham often use children and they struggled using CI techniques which way mean validity of the results could be questioned. However, results have been replicated with adults suggesting that it can be generalised that each of the CP, CO and RE conditions is not as effective as the full CI, though CR is more effective than the full CI in adults.
2.Fisher used 16 police detectives from florida which is a small unrepresentitive sample
3. loftus and palmer used a total of 195 students from one college which is a large sample but all students.
21
Q
evaluate the ethnocentrism of this topic
A
- fisher used pps from florida which is unrepresenitive
- the development of CI comes from a western perspective of police interviewing, however, there are cultural differences in truth telling between western and non western cultures.
It may be that police, witnesses and suspects from non western cultures adopt a different moral view to lie telling in police interviews meaning that the CI may not be appropriate to use in all cultures. - loftus and palmer all students from USA
22
Q
evaluate the freewill/determinism debate for this topic
A
- determinism - Fisher - rival of information is determined by CI techniques
- freewill- CI instruction to report everything they can remember suggests freewill as the witness reports as much as they wish.
3.Loftus and Palmer - determinism - recall of an event is determined by leading questions
23
Q
evaluate the usefulness of topic 3
A
1.research by memon and higham is very useful as it developed the PEACE framework which allows a non accusatory style of interviewing
2. Loftus and Palmer’s reserch lead to cognitive interview technique which stops leading questions, meaning that less people will be wrongfully convicted
3. Reid technique is not useful as it leads to in accurate conclusions and wrongful convictions
24
Q
evaluate the ethical considerations of topic 3
A
1.Reid technique - interviews should be non coercive and the witness or suspect should not be placed under any stress when providing evidence, the PACE code of conduct ensures that that in the UK suspects are non coerced into confessionsThe Reid technique used in the us is confrontational and deliberately puts the suspect under pressure so is less ethical as there is less protection from harm.
2. Loftus and Palmer’s research may have caused harm due to usetting video clips
3. Memon and Higham’s research used children ages 5-9 years old when evaluating the effectiveness of isolated components of the CI - no informed consent
25
evaluate social sensitivity in topic 3
1. strength - allows to study specific processes like cognitive interviewing
2. weakness - labelling - can lead to discrimination of police that use the standard interview.
3. strength - changing policies - helps develop the most efficient interview technique without leading questions.
26
evaluate psychology as a science in topic 3
1. Reid techniqe- unscientific - not reliable or valid
2. loftus and palmer - reliable
3. Memon and Higham used a control group and told them to try harder this was to test a hypothesis - no signif difference between all groups which shows all components are needed
27
what are the 2 applications of strategies for police interviews
PEACE framework
Audio recording interviews
28
what is PEACE framework
* Planning and preparing - interviewers should create and record a written plan, including the details of the characteristics of the interviewee and the practical arrangements for the interview
* Engage and explain - encouraging conversatioin by engaging the witness and maintaining rapport. This enables the interviewer to manage the conversation and develop lines of arguements during the interview
* Account, clariffication and challenge - using open ended questions such as tell me what happened. It is important to support an acount with active listening and allowing the witness to pause with no interruptions. The interviewer should clarify and expand the account by breaking it down into managable topics and examine any information.
* Closure - this should be planned and structured so that the interview does not end abruptly. the interviewer should announce the time and date before turning off the recording equipment
* evaluation - the interviewer needs to evaluate what has been said with a view to determining how the witness' account fitd in with the rest of the investigation
29
evaluate usefulness of the PEACE framework
* it is considered to be best practice for interviewing people with crimes. it is suitable for any type of interviewee.
* it provides an ethical way to collect evidence from witneses and suspects. It provides informationthat can lead to a prosecution or release of a innocent person, saving time, money and resources.
* it increases public confidence in the police service
30
evaluate the effectiveness of PEACE framework
it is effective as it assumes that a suspect or witness who is lying will gradually build up a series of false explanantions that will lead to their story breaking down due to inconsistencies.
31
evaluate the practicalities of the PEACE framework
police investigators agree that sepcial training is needed for the framework to be effective. particularly the case for the Planning phase as it is regarded as the most important component. e.g. visiting the crime scene.
32
what happens during audio recording interviews
* making the recording - the recorder must be loaded with a new recording media which is openened infront of the suspect.
* The interviewer must explain that its being recorded, give theyr name and rank, ask the suspect to identify themselves, state the data time and place of the interview and state that the suspect will be given notice about what will happen to the recording
* ending the interview - the interviewer cautions the suspect and reminds them thay they are entitled to free legal advice. at the conclusion the time is recorded and the recording is stopped.
* the interviewer seals the recording with a label and treats it as an exhibit. they sign thr label and ask the suspect to sign it.
* A secure digital network for the recording is also used. this is a computer network system which enables original interview recordings to be stored as files.
33
evaluate the usefulness of audio recording interviews
the frequency of challenges to the police record of interviews is said to make it essential to have some validated record to prevent the police from fabricating confessions. audio recordings are useful as they act as safeguarfing for the police and the suspect
34
evaluate the effectiveness of audio recordings of interviews
they provide a accurate record of the interview than note taking which avoids disputes about what was said and prevents unnessecary trials from taking place. They are especially effective when the interview is long or complex and where the interviewer and witness may become tired.
35
evaluate practicalities of audio recordings of interviews
* the recordig equipment may fail which means the interviewmay continue but the custody officer has to authorise it. the resource implications in the recording of iterviews are potentially important.
* even if modern technology allows for a recording to be produced with ease, the transcription of significant numbers of interviews for the witnesses' criminal justice act statement is time consuming and expensive and a drain on police resouces.
36
evaluate the nature/nurture debate in this topic
1. fisher - nurture - CI techniques do produce an increase in information that could help police solve crimes.
2. loftus and palmer - nurture - the verb caused a different recall of the event
3. Memon and Higham - nature - used children, they had difficulty using cognitive techniques compared to adults
37
evaluate reductionism/holism in this debate
1. reductionism - fisher - CI techniques produce an increase in information
2. loftus and palmer - leading questions are the explanation for distorted memoey
3. memon and higham - holism - Looks at more than one technique. The techniques encourages witnesses to recall events from different perspectives, such as the victim's perspective. They also look into the impact of age.
