Dave Walsh

What really is effective in interviews with suspects? A study comparing interviewing skills against interviewing outcomes

Purpose. The present study examines whether interviewing in a manner that is compatible with a recommended model of interviewing (called the ‘PEACE’ model) impacts on outcomes of the interviews examined in contrast to prior studies which have usually been concerned whether the conducted interviews were fair and not coercive or whether there had been positive effects of training upon subsequent interview performance. Methods. This study, examining in detail 142 actual suspect interviews, is set in the barely researched area of social security benefit fraud, reflecting current trends in Britain concerning increasing numbers of interviews with suspects undertaken by public sector organizations and the pluralization of policing. Results. It was found that good interviewing in each of the recommended stages that make up the PEACE model generally led to better interviews, indicating the importance that each stage contributes to overall interview quality. Further, the quality of interviews was compared against a range of interview outcomes and it was found that skilled PEACE interviewing was associated with the securing of full accounts, including confessions. Conclusion. Given the few examples of skilled interviewing found in the study it is argued that further training of investigators is necessary to improve both interviewing performance and organizational outcomes.

Interviewing suspects: examining the association between skills, questioning, evidence disclosure, and interview outcomes

The interviewing of suspects is an important element in the investigation of crime. However, studies concerning actual performance of investigators when undertaking such interviews remain sparse. Nevertheless, in England and Wales, since the introduction of a prescribed framework over 20 years ago, field studies have generally shown an improvement in interviewing performance, notwithstanding ongoing concerns largely relating to the more demanding aspects (such as building/maintaining rapport, intermittent summarising and the logical development of topics). Using a sample of 70 real-life interviews, the present study examined questioning and various evidence disclosure strategies (which have also been found demanding), examining their relationships between interview skills and interview outcomes. It was found that when evidence was disclosed gradually (but revealed later), interviews were generally both more skilled and involved the gaining of comprehensive accounts, whereas when evidence was disclosed either early or very late, interviews were found to be both less skilled and less likely to involve this outcome. These findings contribute towards an increased research base for the prescribed framework.

How Do Interviewers Attempt to Overcome Suspects' Denials?

Whilst earlier studies of interviews with suspects have tended to focus upon the causes of false confessions, few have considered how to overcome false denials and obtain true confessions. The present study of 85 interviews with suspects of benefit fraud examined interviewer skill levels of tactics and attitudes (and the extent of their usage and presence) along with measuring any associated movement made towards confession. The study also examined whether or not the weight of evidence, found in prior studies to be a key factor in confessions, played a role when suspects made admissions to wrongdoing. It was found that confessions more likely occurred when skilful interviewer displays of certain tactics and attitudes were increasingly demonstrated, many of which are recommended by the PEACE interviewing framework, developed in England and Wales, whereas the weight of evidence alone was not an influential factor.

Interviewing Suspects of Fraud: An In-Depth Analysis of Interviewing Skills:

Whereas much of the limited research concerning the actual investigative interviewing of suspects has involved police interviews, almost no research has involved other agencies who regularly undertake criminal investigations (for example, those various government agencies that conduct investigations regarding benefit fraud). This study examined a sample of 142 of the more demanding interviews, (both from audiotapes and transcripts of actual interviews with suspects) and it revealed that, while investigators generally displayed ethical interviewing standards and tended to use open questioning techniques, few interviews were skilled. Shortcomings were particularly found in terms of rapport development, summarizing, flexibility, and how investigators brought interviews to closure. Given this frequency of ineffective interviewing, it is recommended that further training of interviewers is required and that additional research is required into the reasons for the mediocre performance.

Police interrogation practice in Slovenia

ABSTRACT Interrogation techniques are well explored, but in Slovenia it has remained unknown what interrogation techniques are used and what the basic characteristics of suspect interrogations are. The Slovenian interrogation manual proposes some coercive interrogation techniques and neglects their weaknesses. The aim of the current study was to examine Slovenian police officers’ beliefs as to the basic characteristics of their interrogations and whether techniques proposed by the manual are used in practice to begin to provide some insight into what actually happens in such interrogations. A survey instrument was used to obtain self-report data from a sample of criminal investigators. From 86 completed questionnaires it was found that a typical interrogation of a suspect lasts around 90 minutes and is not recorded. Interviewers typically use three interrogation techniques namely (i) conducting interrogations in isolation; (ii) identifying contradictions in the suspects story; and (iii) confronting the suspect with evidence. Findings suggest that some coercive interrogation techniques are used in practice (e.g. offering moral justifications, alluding to have evidence of guilt, good cop/bad cop routine, and minimization). The study is the first insight into the practices of Slovenian investigators when questioning suspects. Differences among general, white-collar and organized crime investigators are also discussed.

The Investigation and Investigative Interviewing of Benefit Fraud Suspects in the UK: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

Investigative interviewing in England and Wales has undergone transformation over the last 20 years or so as a result of (1) interviewers being trained in an interviewing framework; (2) the effects of legislation; and (3) the mandatory recording of interviews with all suspects (and those witnesses defined as vulnerable). Interviews that have been audio or video recorded have sometimes allowed the opportunity for later examination by either investigation professionals (e.g., senior officers) or researchers. As such, the number of studies of actual interviewing performance has grown. Almost all of these studies have examined the professional practice of police officers (e.g., Baldwin, 1993; Clarke & Milne, 2001; Griffiths & Milne, 2006; Moston, Stephenson, & Williamson, 1992; Oxburgh, Williamson, & Ost, 2006; Soukara, Bull, Vrij, Turner, & Cherryman, 2009). This is, perhaps, understandable since the police deal with most (and most serious) crimes. However, this approach has led to a gap in the knowledge of what happens in the growing number of interviews conducted by government agencies around the world that are also responsible for detecting and prosecuting criminal activity within their particular jurisdictions.

Evaluating interviews which search for the truth with suspects: but are investigators’ self-assessments of their own skills truthful ones?

ABSTRACT Self-evaluation of one’s own performance has been found in prior research to be an enabler of professional development. The task of evaluation is also a core component of a model of the investigative interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects, being increasingly used throughout the world. However, it remains the case that there has been little research as to how practitioners approach the task itself. The present study examined the topic through the lens of observing how effectively 30 real-life investigators in the UK undertook evaluation of their interviews, representing almost the entire investigative frontline workforce of a small law enforcement agency in this country. Using an established scale of measurement, both investigators’ and an expert’s ratings of the same sample of interviews were compared across a range of tasks and behaviours. It was found that in almost all the assessed behaviours, requiring of the investigators to provide a self-rating, their scores tended to significantly outstrip those applied to the sample by the expert. Reasons are explored for the investigators’ overstated assessments. Implications for practice are then discussed.

Developing a scale to measure the presence of possible prejudicial stereotyping in police interviews with suspects: The Minhas Investigative Interviewing Prejudicial Stereotyping Scale (MIIPSS)

Abstract If police interviewers’ hold negative feelings towards certain groups, this may affect how they interview them (either as victims, witnesses or suspects) in that they may not obtain reliable accounts, being the aim of such interviews. The Minhas Investigative Interviewing Prejudicial Stereotyping Scale (MIIPSS) has been developed to assess the level of any investigative interviewers’ prejudicial stereotyping towards suspects. The current exploratory study involved semi-structured interviews with twenty people, who had previously been interviewed as suspects in England and also eight very experienced lawyers. Both their views were measured using the MIIPSS before being subjected to a Guttman analysis. Statistical analyses showed that MIIPSS satisfies the criteria for classification as a valid unidimensional and cumulative scale. Therefore, researchers could use MIIPSS as a tool to measure prejudicial stereotyping in investigative interviews. Interviewers could also use MIIPSS to monitor their own attitudes towards certain groups or individuals suspected of different types of crimes.

An exploration of perceptions of real-life suspects’ from the Asian Muslim community relating to the police interviewing practices in England

ABSTRACT In England and Wales, the ‘war on terror’ has been argued to impact adversely on existing race relations policies. New legislation (such as wide discretionary powers of stop and search and arrest under the Terrorism Act (TA) 2000, the extension of pre-charge detention of 28 days (TA 2006), and the use of control orders to detain without trial), policing, and counter-terrorism measures may cast Muslims as the ‘enemy within’. The current research concerns real-life Asian Muslim suspects’ perceptions and experiences of police interviewing practices in England. This study involves semi-structured interviews with 22 people who had previously been interviewed as suspects throughout England. Around two-thirds of participants reported perceiving the demonstration of various stereotyping by police officers during interviews, half of whom indicated that the interviewers demonstrated racial/religious stereotypes via discriminatory behaviour. Given the potential and serious consequences of such racial/religious stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour, further training of police officers seems necessary to improve both interviewing performance and community cohesion.

Examining the Effects of Violence and Personality on Eyewitness Memory

Witnesses play a key role in criminal investigations. Research in estimator variables has aided criminal justice practitioners to estimate, post hoc, the likelihood of obtaining accurate testimony from a specific witness. Nonetheless, only a few studies have examined how violence and personality influence memory. The present study examines both variables with a student sample (N = 53). Participants were randomly divided between those who viewed a crime involving physical violence (n = 24) and those who watched an event that did not include physical violence (n = 29). Results found that physical violence increased the quantity of information recalled, and Honesty personality domain was positively correlated with memory performance. Nonetheless, the relationship between personality domains and memory performance appeared to be influenced and modified by the presence of physical violence. Under violent conditions personality domains of Emotionality and Openness appeared to be related with decreased memory accuracy, whereas Contentiousness appeared to be related with increased memory accuracy. This study enables a clearer picture to emerge of the effect that violence and personality have on memory and seeds the idea that claiming linear relationships between estimator variables and memory may be over-simplistic as variables appeared to be related among them when influencing eyewitness memory.