Observations From Canadian Practitioners About the Investigation and Prosecution of Crimes Involving Child and Adult Witnesses

Roberts, Kim P.; Cameron, Sean

doi:10.1080/15228932.2015.997611

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…There are several legal reasons for the need to particularize separate incidents such as being able to lay specific charges and determine sentencing. Our previous research (e.g., Roberts & Powell, 2006), case law (e.g., R v. B [G], 1990), surveys of interviewers (e.g., Roberts & Cameron, 2015), and our discussions with investigators indicate that child witnesses find it difficult to connect 'particulars' or details with the exact individual acts or occurrences. Typically, children are confused between occurrences, even though much of what they recall is accurate (Powell & Thomson, 1996).…”

Section: Children's Memory and The Forensic Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges facing East Asian immigrant children in sexual abuse cases.

Roberts

Zhang

2016

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne

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Immigrants from East Asia make up 14.21% of the total number of immigrants in Canada. These families face many challenges as they acculturate to North America, but, sadly, some of these children may be at risk for sexual abuse. In this article, we outline the ways in which East Asian children, compared with Western nonimmigrant children, are at a particular disadvantage when considering prosecution of those who perpetrate abuse. We focus specifically on 3 areas of concern: (1) cultural differences that can shape children’s memory recall, (2) cultural differences that can impact the path of disclosure of sexual abuse, and (3) language differences that reduce the chances that perpetrators will be prosecuted for sexual abuse. The consequences for East Asian immigrant youth who allege (or are suspected) that they are victims of abuse are serious. East Asian children face an uphill battle to see justice in sexual abuse cases. Thus, a significant portion of immigrant children will not see their abusers punished, and, worse, the knowledge that prosecution is unlikely may make East Asian immigrant children vulnerable.

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Section: Children's Memory and The Forensic Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges facing East Asian immigrant children in sexual abuse cases.

Roberts

Zhang

2016

Canadian Psychology / Psychologie canadienne

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“…The most common response (discussed by 27% of the practitioners) was to interview young children, citing for example the need to phrase developmentally sensitive questions and keeping the children's attention. Roberts and Cameron (2015) also surveyed 8 forensic child interviewers from Canada about their views on the usefulness of specific interviewing techniques with children of different ages. In line with Rowback Rivard and Schrieber Compo (2017), the Canadian practitioners reported difficulties eliciting adequate accounts from children below the age of six during forensic interviews.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, some expressed concerns regarding the testimony of adolescents. Roberts and Cameron (2015) emphasized the need for further research on witness interviews with adolescents, as the majority of studies on this age group has focused on suspect interrogations (see for example Redlich, 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Forensic interviewers’ experiences of interviewing children of different ages

Magnusson

Ernberg

Landström

et al. 2020

Psychology, Crime & Law

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Increased knowledge about practitioners' experiences of conducting forensic child interviews may provide valuable insights into the perceived challenges they encounter when questioning children. This mixed-methods study examined Swedish practitioners' views on different interviewing components (ground rules, rapport building, practice narratives, question types), props, strategies for adapting their methods for preschool-aged children, and perceptions of challenges interviewing children of differing ages. Eighty-eight specialized forensic child interviewers responded to a national survey. The data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Attitudes regarding different interviewing components were mainly in line with current research recommendations. Prop use was primarily limited to drawings, photographs, and stressreduction tools. A variety of strategies were used to adapt the existing protocol for questioning young children, indicating a potential need for additional standardized guidelines for this age group. Furthermore, the perceived barriers for children to disclose and the demands placed on the interviewer varied across age groups. Since all children should have the right to be questioned with age appropriate methods, we need to continue to develop ways of adapting practitioners' interviewing strategies to match children's developmental levels. To reach this aim, researchers may benefit from taking into account the concerns raised by forensic child interviewers.

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“…Interviewers consistently discussed ground rules, asked for a promise to tell the truth, and conducted rapport and free-narrative practice. Evaluations from other countries have shown that interviewers often omit ground rules (Luther et al, 2014;Roberts & Cameron 2015;Sternberg et al, 2001) or episodic recall practice (La Luther et al, 2014;Westcott & Kynan, 2006).…”

Section: Evaluation Of Forensic Interviewing Practice In New Zealandmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding and addressing challenges faced by forensic interviewers in their work with children

Wolfman¹

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<p>Questioning techniques in forensic interviews make a critical contribution to the amount and quality of children’s testimony (Lamb, La Rooy, Malloy, & Katz, 2011). Best practice recommendations advise that interviewers ask predominantly broad open-ended prompts (invitations and cued-invitations), minimise focused (direct) and closed-ended (option-posing) prompts, and avoid suggestive questions (Orbach & Pipe, 2011). Deviation from these recommendations is common, and deterioration in interviewing practice over time is typical unless interviewers received regular practice focused supervision and feedback (Lamb, Sternberg, Orbach, Esplin, & Mitchell, 2002). However, interviewers’ access to supervision is often limited (La Rooy, Lamb, & Memon, 2011). Guided self-review may be an effective method to complement traditional face-to-face supervision. This thesis examined: 1) forensic interviewing practice with children in New Zealand, 2) factors that influenced practice, 3) forensic interviewers’ perceptions of supervision, and 4) the effectiveness of a self-review tool designed to increase the use of invitations and cued-invitations. The first study was divided into two parts (Study 1a and Study 1b). In Study 1a, we evaluated the extent to which forensic interviewers in New Zealand adhered to best-practice recommendations, and examined factors (child, interviewer, allegation characteristics) that influenced practice. We examined 93 interviews with children (6-16 years old) about sexual abuse allegations that were conducted by 27 interviewers. Interviewers utilised more direct (57%), and option-posing prompts (20%), and fewer invitations and cued-invitations (22% combined) than stipulated by best practice recommendations, although very few suggestive questions were posed. A number of child, interviewer and allegation characteristics influenced questioning techniques. In Study 1b, we examined whether limited use of invitations and cued-invitations (in a larger sample of 103 interviews) was associated with decreased responsiveness from children, and failure to follow recommended practice of using such questions following any direct or option-posing questions (termed pairing). Although invitations were more likely to elicit responses (83%) than non-responses (17%) from children, non-responding was more highly associated with this type of prompt than expected by chance. Furthermore, interviewers did not adhere to the pairing principle, even though this practice was positively associated with higher proportion of invitations and cued-invitations. In the second study, we surveyed 39 forensic interviewers about their engagement in, and beliefs about supervision. Two-thirds of the interviewers indicated that they engage in practice-focused supervision. Out of these interviewers, over half (57.7%) received supervision regularly and were satisfied with the content of their supervision, and approximately half (53.9%) were satisfied with their supervision opportunities. Nonetheless, interviewers varied in terms of how satisfying they found their access to, and the content of supervision. Finally, a number of individual and organisational barriers (e.g., financial, time constraint and limited availability of supervisors) to accessing face-to-face supervision were identified. In the final study, we explored the impact of a self-review tool specifically designed to increase invitations and cued-invitations and adherence to the pairing principle. This pilot study used an AB design (baseline vs. intervention) with six interviewers (n=54 interviews with 4-16 year old children for alleged physical or sexual abuse). Interviews conducted during the self-review phase had a significantly higher proportion of invitations, and a lower proportion of direct prompts, and higher adherence to the pairing principle than interviews at baseline. Overall, our evaluation of forensic interviewing practice with children in New Zealand has highlighted areas of strengths as well as areas for improvement. In particular, consistent with international evaluations, an increase in the use of invitations and cued-invitations is recommended, and our results suggest that one way this may be achieved is by a greater focus in training and practice on the use of the pairing principle. Undoubtedly, forensic interviewing is a challenging task that requires highly specialised skills. Without regular supervision and feedback, it is difficult to maintain consistent and high standards of interviewing. Given the challenges that may limit forensic interviewers’ access to regular feedback and supervision, guided self-review may offer an accessible and low-cost complementary method to improve the conduct of forensic interviews with children. Better quality interviews increase the chance of investigations progressing when maltreatment has occurred, thereby protecting vulnerable children from further abuse, and innocent adults from the consequences of false allegations.</p>

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Observations From Canadian Practitioners About the Investigation and Prosecution of Crimes Involving Child and Adult Witnesses

Abstract: Hundreds of scientific studies on the competencies and limitations of eyewitnesses have been published, but few have sought input from front-line forensic interviewers. In the current study, a research agenda was established with in-depth input from 13 forensic interviewers. Interviewers

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Challenges facing East Asian immigrant children in sexual abuse cases.

Challenges facing East Asian immigrant children in sexual abuse cases.

Forensic interviewers’ experiences of interviewing children of different ages

Understanding and addressing challenges faced by forensic interviewers in their work with children

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