Joseph Eastwood

MEASURING READING COMPLEXITY AND LISTENING COMPREHENSION OF CANADIAN POLICE CAUTIONS

The reading complexity and listening comprehension of Canadian police cautions were measured. In Study 1, the complexity of 44 unique Canadian police cautions was assessed using five readability measures (Flesch-Kincaid reading level, sentence complexity, use of difficult words, use of infrequent words, and number of words). Results showed that 7 (37%) of the right-to-silence cautions (n = 19) and none of the right-to-legal-counsel cautions (n = 25) reached acceptable cutoff levels for all five measures. In Study 2, university students ( N = 121) were presented with one of three cautions verbally and were asked to explain its meaning. Despite variations in complexity across the three cautions, participants understood approximately one third of the information contained in the cautions. The extent to which the needs of Canadian suspects and police organizations are being met and the validity of reading complexity as a predictor of listening comprehension are discussed.

Measuring the Reading Complexity and Oral Comprehension of Canadian Youth Waiver Forms

The reading complexity of a sample of Canadian police youth waiver forms was assessed, and the oral comprehension of a waiver form was examined. In Study 1, the complexity of 31 unique waiver forms was assessed using five readability measures (i.e., waiver length, Flesch–Kincaid grade level, Grammatik sentence complexity, word difficulty, and word frequency). Results showed that the waivers are lengthy, are written at a relatively high grade level, contain complex sentences, and contain difficult and infrequent words. In Study 2, high school students (N = 32) were presented orally with one youth waiver form and asked to explain its meaning. Results showed that participants understood approximately 40% of the information contained in the waiver form. The likelihood of the rights of Canadian youths being protected and the need to create a standardized and comprehensible waiver form are discussed.

Educating Jurors about Forensic Evidence: Using an Expert Witness and Judicial Instructions to Mitigate the Impact of Invalid Forensic Science Testimony.

Invalid expert witness testimony that overstated the precision and accuracy of forensic science procedures has been highlighted as a common factor in many wrongful conviction cases. This study assessed the ability of an opposing expert witness and judicial instructions to mitigate the impact of invalid forensic science testimony. Participants (N = 155) acted as mock jurors in a sexual assault trial that contained both invalid forensic testimony regarding hair comparison evidence, and countering testimony from either a defense expert witness or judicial instructions. Results showed that the defense expert witness was successful in educating jurors regarding limitations in the initial experts conclusions, leading to a greater number of not‐guilty verdicts. The judicial instructions were shown to have no impact on verdict decisions. These findings suggest that providing opposing expert witnesses may be an effective safeguard against invalid forensic testimony in criminal trials.

Measuring and Predicting Police Caution Comprehension in Adult Offenders

Nous avons mesuré le taux de compréhension de deux mises en garde données par les policiers auprès d’un échantillon de contrevenants adultes canadiens et avons prédit leur compréhension à l’aide de trois moyens de mesure d’habiletés intellectuelles (c.-à-d. la mémoire opérationnelle, le vocabulaire et la compréhension auditive). Les participants (N = 60) ont dû écouter à une mise en garde sur le droit au silence et une autre sur le droit à un avocat, puis les interpréter. Les résultats démontrent que les contrevenants ont compris 30 % de leurs droits et que les mesures d’habilités intellectuelles étaient de mauvais prédicteurs de compréhension. Les impacts de ces résultats sur notre compréhension des facteurs liés à la compréhension des mises en garde et à la gestion de la justice sont examinés.

The Importance of Knowledge Cumulation and the Search for Hidden Agendas: A Reply to Kocsis, Middledorp, and Karpin (2008)

In a recent narrative review and meta-analysis of the criminal profiling (CP) literature, Snook, Eastwood, Gendreau, Goggin, and Cullen (2007) found that self-labeled profilers and/or self-labeled profilers/experienced detectives did not decisively outperform lay individuals in their ability to produce accurate profiles. Combined with their finding that the CP literature is based largely on commonsense rationales, they cautioned police officers about using CP in investigations. In a recent issue of this journal, Kocsis, Middledorp, and Karpin (2008) (KMK) challenged some of the methodological decisions of Snook et al. and questioned their interpretation of their meta-analytic findings. In addition, KMK suggested that the work by Snook et al., and that of Bennell, Jones, Taylor, and Snook (2006) is based not on a desire to move profiling research forward but on a hidden agenda to promote an investigative psychology (IP) approach to profiling. In response, we argue that KMK have failed to consider important issues of knowledge cumulation when criticizing the meta-analysis by Snook et al. and that KMKs views with respect to IP have no basis in our previous research. Instead of trying to find a nonexistent hidden agenda in our work, we suggest that efforts would be better directed toward conducting high-quality CP research.

Don’t stop believing: the relative impact of internal alibi details on judgments of veracity

ABSTRACT The relative impact of five alibi components on the assessment of alibi veracity was investigated using a policy-capturing methodology. Participants (N = 115) were instructed to assume the role of a homicide investigator and evaluate 32 alibis that varied on five dichotomous variables: Salaciousness; Legality; Change in Details; Superfluous Details; and Specific Details. Participants evaluated the believability of each alibi, and the likelihood of the alibi provider’s guilt. Results indicated that participants tended to disbelieve suspects when illegal or salacious behaviours were mentioned within the alibi. Few decision policies contained Change in Details, Superfluous Details, or Specific Details. The potential implications for alibi assessments during police investigations are discussed.