Taking stock: evaluating the conduct of forensic interviews with children in New Zealand

ABSTRACT This study examined adherence to the New Zealand Specialist Child Witness Interviewing model in 93 interviews with children about sexual abuse allegations. Interviewers (n = 27) demonstrated good adherence to the scripted components of the model during the preparation stage of the interview. When investigating the abuse allegation, interviewers demonstrated a greater use of Direct (‘Wh-’) (57%), and Option-posing prompts (20%) than stipulated by the model and fewer broad open-ended prompts (22%). Very few suggestive questions were posed. In contrast to recommended practice, Direct and Option-posing prompts were not only asked frequently, but were introduced very early in the investigative phase of the interview. Training, supervision and feedback should focus on increasing the use of broad open-ended prompts and minimizing premature use of more focused prompts to promote best-practice interviews.

[1]  P. Jose,et al.  Examining forensic interviewers’ perceptions of practice-focused supervision , 2017 .

[2]  Rachel Zajac,et al.  Witness interviewing practices in New Zealand , 2017 .

[3]  M. Lamb,et al.  Child Interviewing Practices in Canada: A Box Score from Field Observations , 2015 .

[4]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  Evaluation of a comprehensive interactive training system for investigative interviewers of children , 2015 .

[5]  Sonja P. Brubacher,et al.  The use of ground rules in investigative interviews with children: A synthesis and call for research , 2015 .

[6]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  The relationship between investigative interviewing experience and open-ended question usage , 2014 .

[7]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  Prosecutors' recommendations for improving child witness statements about sexual abuse , 2014 .

[8]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  Facilitating Child Witness Interviewers' Understanding of Evidential Requirements through Prosecutor Instruction , 2013 .

[9]  Charlie Lewis,et al.  The NICHD investigative interview protocol: an analogue study. , 2013, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[10]  M. Cyr,et al.  Transfer of Skills in the Context of Non-Suggestive Investigative Interviews: Impact of Structured Interview Protocol and Feedback , 2012 .

[11]  Gavin E. Oxburgh,et al.  Investigative Interviews with Victims of Child Sexual Abuse: The Relationship between Question Type and Investigation Relevant Information , 2012 .

[12]  Heather L. Price,et al.  Children's episodic and generic reports of alleged abuse , 2011 .

[13]  Y. Orbach,et al.  Investigating Substantive Issues , 2011 .

[14]  I. Hershkowitz.  Rapport Building in Investigative Interviews of Children , 2011 .

[15]  M. Lamb,et al.  Forensic Interviews with Children in Scotland: A Survey of Interview Practices Among Police , 2011 .

[16]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  An examination of the association between interviewer question type and story-grammar detail in child witness interviews about abuse. , 2010, Child abuse & neglect.

[17]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  Evaluation of the Questions Used to Elicit Evidence About Abuse from Child Witnesses: Australian Study , 2009 .

[18]  R. Tobias.  Changing behavior by memory aids: a social psychological model of prospective memory and habit development tested with dynamic field data. , 2009, Psychological review.

[19]  K. Kuehnle,et al.  The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony , 2008 .

[20]  S. Magnussen,et al.  Theory and practice in interviewing young children: A study of Norwegian police interviews 1985–2002 , 2006 .

[21]  Martine B. Powell,et al.  Investigative Interviewers' Perceptions of Their Difficulty in Adhering to Open-Ended Questions with Child Witnesses , 2006 .

[22]  D. Connolly,et al.  Delayed Prosecutions of Historic Child Sexual Abuse: Analyses of 2064 Canadian Criminal Complaints , 2006, Law and human behavior.

[23]  N. K. Sandnabba,et al.  Dynamics of verbal interaction between interviewer and child in interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse. , 2006, Scandinavian journal of psychology.

[24]  Michael E. Lamb,et al.  Conversational apprentices: Helping children become competent informants about their own experiences , 2006 .

[25]  T. Fundudis.  Children's testimony. A handbook of psychological research and forensic practice. , 2003 .

[26]  Y. Orbach,et al.  The Effects of Intensive Training and Ongoing Supervision on the Quality of Investigative Interviews With Alleged Sex Abuse Victims , 2002 .

[27]  Y. Orbach,et al.  Is Ongoing Feedback Necessary to Maintain The Quality of Investigative Interviews With Allegedly Abused Children? , 2002 .

[28]  Michael E. Lamb,et al.  The effects of question type on self‐contradictions by children in the course of forensic interviews , 2001 .

[29]  G. Goodman,et al.  Effects of Past Abuse Experiences on Children's Eyewitness Memory , 2001, Law and human behavior.

[30]  G. Davies,et al.  The Memorandum of Good Practice: theory versus application. , 2001, Child abuse & neglect.

[31]  Christopher Zorn.  Generalized Estimating Equation Models for Correlated Data: A Review with Applications , 2001 .

[32]  Y. Orbach,et al.  The relationship between within-interview contradictions and eliciting interviewer utterances. , 2001, Child abuse & neglect.

[33]  K. J. Sternberg,et al.  Effects of age and delay on the amount of information provided by alleged sex abuse victims in investigative interviews. , 2000, Child development.

[34]  A. Cederborg,et al.  Investigative interviews of child witnesses in Sweden. , 2000, Child abuse & neglect.

[35]  Y. Orbach,et al.  Assessing the value of structured protocols for forensic interviews of alleged child abuse victims. , 2000, Child abuse & neglect.

[36]  M. Pipe,et al.  ‘What colour is your pet dinosaur?’ The impact of pre‐interview training and question type on children's answers , 1999 .

[37]  K. J. Sternberg,et al.  Effects of Investigative Utterance Types on Israeli Children's Responses , 1996 .

[38]  Amye Warren,et al.  “It Sounds Good in Theory, But...”: Do Investigative Interviewers Follow Guidelines Based on Memory Research? , 1996 .

[39]  K. J. Sternberg,et al.  The relation between investigative utterance types and the informativeness of child witnesses , 1996 .

[40]  A. Vrij,et al.  Explaining conversation rules to children: an intervention study to facilitate children's accurate responses. , 1996, Child abuse & neglect.

[41]  A. Kluger,et al.  The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. , 1996 .

[42]  K. Saywitz,et al.  Reducing the Potential for Distortion of Childhood Memories , 1994, Consciousness and Cognition.

[43]  M. Lamb.  Tell me what happened : structured investigative interviews of child victims and witnesses , 2008 .

[44]  Y. Orbach,et al.  Comprar Tell Me What Happened: Structured Investigative Interviews of Child Victims and Witnesses | Michael E. Lamb | 9780470518656 | Wiley , 2008 .

[45]  S. Ceci,et al.  Reconceptualizing children's suggestibility: bidirectional and temporal properties. , 2005, Child development.

[46]  M. Bruck,et al.  The suggestibility of children's memory. , 1999, Annual review of psychology.

[47]  M. Sandelowski,et al.  Interviewing children. , 1999, Research in nursing & health.