Undertstanding The Offender, Offender Analysis, And Case Formulation

Question 1

What is the cognitive interview?

Answer 1

-developed by Gieselman et al to help police improve their interview techniques to gain more accurate EWT
-it views memory as reconstructive
-it links what is known about memory to practices to help the police to gain better EWT

Question 2

Describe and explain what the first step of the cognitive interview process is

Answer 2

-report everything
-witnesses are encouraged to include every detail of an event, even if it seems irrelevant or the witness is not confident about it. Seemingly trivial details could be important and may trigger other memories

Question 3

Explain what the second step of the cognitive interview process is

Answer 3

-reinstate the context
-the witness returns to the original crime scene ‘in their mind’ by thinking about what objects were in the room, any sounds or smells, and imagines the environment and their emotions. This is based on the encoding specificity principle, suggesting environmental/ cognitive cue can be encoded with information and so can help recall information if reinstated.

Question 4

Explain what the 3rd process of the cognitive interview is

Answer 4

-reverse the order
-events are recalled in a different chronological order. This prevents people using their expectations of how the event must have happened rather than the actual events. This is seen as more effective that recalling the event in order twice

Question 5

Explain what the 4th step in the cognitive interview process is

Answer 5

-change the perspective
-witnesses recall the incident from others people’s perspectives. This prevents the influence of expectations and schema recall. Explaining the event from someone’s perspective can also allow accessing the memory via different pathways in the brain. However this aspect could lead people to make up what they think someone else has seen, so it is not always used by police.

Question 6

What happens right before and after the cognitive interview takes place?

Answer 6

-before= introduction to establish a relationship between the interviewer and the witness and sets out the witnesses focused approach. They are told one person will be in the room with them and another is watching behind a one way mirror also taking notes
-after= interviewer reviews all information from the interview, and it is closed in a way to allow it to be continued if necessary

Question 7

What is the enhanced cognitive interview?

Answer 7

-additional elements added by fisher to focus on improving communication between the interviewer and witness
-aspects of it include: reducing eyewitness’ anxiety, minimising distractions, getting the witness to speak slowly, asking open ended questions

Question 8

What is an ethical interview?

Answer 8

-one of the primary methods used by police to obtain information from witnesses, victims and suspects of crime.
-over time police have changed their approaches and with help of psychology have started to understand how to conduct an ‘ethical interview’, as opposed to forcing a confession from a suspect without gaining any facts of the event

Question 9

What are some of the ethical standards from the BPS that should be considered when interviewing relating to crime?

Answer 9

-every human should be treated with dignity
-interviews just be conducted in a non-judgemental manner
-deception or false information should not be used to gain a confession
-trust must be the focus, not confession

Question 10

What is the PEACE process used for?

Answer 10

-an attempt in the UK to move away from past problematic interview methods and design an ethical structure for interviews
-it incorporates elements of two interviewing models, cognitive interview and conversation management

Question 11

Explain what happens in stage 1 of EI- Planning and Preparation

Answer 11

-interviewers think about their aims and objectives before the interview and emphasises the importance of planning
-topics of interest are noted in this phase and questions are designed.
-interviewers think about the outcomes and what they want to achieve before carrying out the interview

Question 12

Explain what happens in stage 2 of EI- Engage and Explain

Answer 12

-the interviewers explain how the interview will take place and answer any questions
-the interviewer starts with open ended questions about the offence meaning a better rapport will be developed.
-suspects are also encouraged to give their own account in their own words

Question 13

Explain what happens in stage 3 of EI- Account

Answer 13

-the interviewer can now ask closed questions afterwards if they didn’t get all of the information
-inconsistencies or inaccuracies can be explored, but challenging of inconsistencies must be left to the end of this stage otherwise it may restrict how much the suspect tells you
-the interviewer should then clarify the account but not contradict or interrupt

Question 14

Explain what happens in stage 4 of EI- Closure

Answer 14

-interviewers bring the interview to a comfortable conclusion to avoid negative emotional reactions such as anxiety
-this is done in a calm and controlled manner
-the interviewer ensures any final information is gathered from the suspect

Question 15

Explain what happens in the final stage of the EI- Evaluate

Answer 15

-interviews should be evaluated against required aims to look at the material that was obtained

Question 16

What is a case formulation?

Answer 16

-used to form a diagnosis and treatment plan for individuals mental health issues
-they aim to explain the cause of a persons behaviour by constructing a summary of their life to help decide future plans and interventions

Question 17

Why is case formulation used?

Answer 17

-if offender presents with complex problems and treatment is unclear
-unusual crime
-standard treatment has failed (recidivism)
-offender is not benefiting from current treatment
-to help other professionals understand the offender e.g judge or social worker

Question 18

Describe and explain what the first phase of case formulation is- Offender analysis

Answer 18

-is the analysis of the crime Including an assessment of the offender
-it provides insight into the offenders thinking and can propose the right intervention and facilitate a reduction in reoffending
-will give a good indication as to the risk an offender poses
-should analyse the offenders behaviour, not just list and describe what they did, giving an in-depth breakdown of how an offence took place , who, what, when, why to find out what motivated the criminal behaviour
-often takes the form of an interview

Question 19

Describe and explain what the second phase of case formulation is- Understanding the function of offending

Answer 19

-finding out what purpose the criminal behaviour served for the individual
-may be an addiction, craving or a need
-for e.g a rapist may compensate for their own feelings of worthlessness by exercising power over their victims. This is not an excuse, but to understand what compels them to do it
-psychological theories may be useful to explain the causes of the criminal behaviour
-past research is also considered to see if there are any previous trends which could explain the cause of this current criminal behaviour

Question 20

Describe and explain what the third phase of case formulation is- Application to treatment

Answer 20

-used to help in formulating the most effective treatment plan for the offender, help educate the offender about their issues and also provide a report to the judge about treat ability, risk assessment and likelihood of re offending
-some form of intervention should be established from the previous stages, and this should reflect how the offending started in the 1st place, the risk of reoffending and how likely the offender is to stick to the programme
-treatment plan implemented and reviewed periodically to see if its working