Witness and Suspect Interviewing Flashcards
State why PACE was introduced
As a result of the Brixton riots and the Birmingham 6:
PACE was introduced ND set out the rules and safeguards for policing in England and Wales including role of the appropriate adult (AA). The principal intention was to reduce the risk of miscarriages of justice as a result of evidence being obtained from vulnerable suspects which, by virtue of their vulnerability, led to unsafe and unjust convictions.
Explain the stages of the PEACE model
Explain the different questioning techniques
CONE system
Explain GRRR
State PLAT with regards to interviewing
People
Location
Action
Time
State the role of legal advisors and the role they play within a suspect
interview
- Provide legal advice to their client
- Request clarity when questions are unclear & ambiguous
- Prevent oppressive, threatening or insulting questioning
- Prevent questioning based on supposition ‘what if?’
- Prevent questioning based on material which has not been disclosed/ summarised
- Object to questions which are not relevant to the offence under investigation
- Object to questions which are not directed at discovering whether & by whom the offence in question was committed
Explain Special Warnings and when to introduce them
S36 of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 puts an onus on a suspect to account for objects, marks or substances found on
him at the time of arrest.
S37 of the Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 puts the onus on a suspect to account for their presence is suspicious circumstances at the time of arrest
And you as the investigating officer
Believe either the presence of the object, mark or substance
located on him OR
believe his presence in suspicious circumstances at the time of
arrest
May be because he took part in that offence
And….
The suspect has either refused to give an explanation or not supplied a satisfactory explanation for either of these facts (S36 or S 37)
At any future trial the court may be made aware of this failure or refusal & may draw conclusions which would not be helpful to their defence
Explain Bad Character and how this can be used as part of interviewing
Bad character evidence is proof that for example the suspect has been dishonest in the past or has committed a crime in the past.
The most useful aspects of this legislation for the Police are likely to be the ability to show the defendant has:
A propensity to commit a certain type of crime (D or F)
or
A propensity to be untruthful (D, F or G)
The most likely way of admitting B.C.E is by use of previous convictions which may be admitted if they demonstrate the above points.
Summarise the concept of Pre-charge engagement
A voluntary engagement between two parties in an investigation after the first PACE interview & before the suspect has been formally charged.
Amongst other things it can involve ascertaining whether the suspect can identify any other lines of inquiry or asking whether the suspect is aware of or can provide access to digital material that has a bearing on the allegation
Describe – S16 YJCE Act 1999 including the criteria
S16 YJCE = Vulnerable witnesses
The criteria are:
* Under 18
* Mental Illness
* Learning Disability
* Physical Disability
Describe – S17 YJCE Act 1999
S17 YJCE Act 1999 - Initmidated witnesses
The criteria are:
* Suffering from fear or distress
