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Computer-based simulations provide an opportunity for social work students to learn effective communication skills that sit at the core of social work practice. The current study describes a best practice interviewing protocol that promotes the use of open-ended questions (i.e. that elicit elaborate responses without dictating expected content) taught using a computer-generated child avatar. Utilising a mixed method design, quantitative analysis showed social work students (N = 25) who undertook a 3-hour training session showed improvements from baseline to post-training. There was a significant increase in open-ended questions and a concomitant decrease in poorly structured (closed) questions. Thematic analysis (N = 39) of participant feedback on the training supported students’ understanding that open-ended questions are key to eliciting detailed information. Students were positive about the use of technology and its place in social work education, highlighting its realism and the absence of risk to clients while learning. Evidence of emerging reflective practice and understanding of the self when engaging with technology-based education is discussed.

This study aims to advance the field of child forensic interviewing by assessing the impact of different refresher training modalities on police officers’ abilities to adhere to the steps of an interview protocol and on the types of questions used. Previously trained police officers (N = 46) were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: (1) supervision with an expert, (2) peer group supervision, and (3) computer-assisted exercises on children’s investigative interview techniques. Comparison of interviews conducted before (n = 136) and after (n = 124) the refresher modalities revealed an improvement in performance across time for almost all steps of the protocol. There were more effects associated with time than with modality of refresher training with regard to question types used during episodic memory training and the substantive phase of the interview. Although there were some differences between the three conditions, no method emerged as clearly superior. Results suggest that all modalities could be useful in refreshing adherence to the steps of an interview protocol and use of best practice questioning approaches. The discussion highlights that the time devoted to the three modalities was likely not enough and that further studies are needed to determine the most optimal delivery of refresher training.

The standard interview method (SIM) is a guidance framework for information gathering interviews. This article describes the purpose, scope, origin, experimental basis, and practical application of...

PurposeInvestigative interviewers assess their colleagues' interviews (‘peer review’) as a necessary part of their practice, and for their self-development. Yet, there is little guidance around what the process involves and how they might do it. Research suggests that effective peer review is supported by using guidance material. The goal of the present work was to describe the use of such a guide by a group of professionals who regularly conduct investigative interviews with children, to share what was learned with other professionals seeking to create a formalized peer review process.Design/methodology/approachSixty US child witness interviewers completed a guided peer review assessment of an anonymous interview, as an assignment at the conclusion of an 18-hour training program that focused on developing their interviewing skills. They consented to the use of their learning data in research, and the research was approved by the university's research ethics board. Peer reviews were coded for the extent to which they used the guide to support their evaluations, and the overall quality of the review to assess the utility of the guide in supporting them to conduct effective assessments.FindingsIn general, the guide and instructions for providing feedback were moderately effective in supporting the peer assessments, but results suggested specific training in how to deliver peer review would be useful.Practical implicationsThrough this process, the authors identified components that would be helpful to further increase the efficacy of peer review.Originality/valueThe aim of this work was to spark a greater conversation among practitioners and academics about professionalizing the peer review process and aiding interviewers to develop peer review tools that would support their continued growth. The authors conclude with five key tips for professionals that stem from the experiences creating and evaluating the guide in combination with existing literature and three areas for future investigation.

Gathering information from interviewees is similar across many disciplines. Evidence-based approaches to interviewing are encouraged in criminal investigations with suspects (e.g., Swanner, Meissner, Atkinson, & Dianiska, 2016), are found in medical communication manuals (e.g., Silverman, Kurtz, & Draper, 2013), can be applied to fraud investigation (Shawyer & Walsh, 2007), and are recommended for professionals who work with children in a variety of non-criminal capacities (e.g., Brubacher, Powell, Snow, Skouteris, & Manger, 2016), to name just a few. In this issue, Meissner and Lyles (2019) provide support for best-practice interviewing in Title IX investigations. Regardless of the topic, a best-practice interview requires a core set of skills. In this commentary, we discuss the skills noted by Meissner and Lyles (2019) and add further elements that we believe relevant for consideration in Title IX investigations. We highlight our agreement with their article and explain any points of contention. Throughout, we advance two key and related viewpoints: High quality interviewing is similar across many contexts, but there is not a one-size-fits-all protocol. Instead, interview trainers should focus on teaching the elements of best practice, and in a way that promotes sustained learning. We conclude with suggestions regarding effective training and genuine engagement between academics and practitioners.

The current study explored the effectiveness of three interview protocols on the number and specificity of details provided by minimally verbal adults about a staged repeated event. Eighty adults (with expressive sentence length of around 5 words, matched on measures of expressive language and intellectual functioning) participated in 3 live events and were pseudorandomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 interviews. The narrative-first protocol exhausted recall with open-ended questions before focused questions were asked, the intermixed protocol paired open-ended questions immediately followed by related focused questions, and the visual cues protocol mimicked the narrative-first protocol but with the use of cue cards. Overall, participants reported more correct information about the last occurrence in the intermixed and visual than narrative-first interview. The narrative-first interview elicited fewer internal intrusions (experienced details attributed to the wrong occurrence) compared with the visual, but not the intermixed, interview. Expressive language and intellectual function were positively associated with the reporting of event-related details. Providing information about repeated events was challenging for minimally verbal adults; reporting of generic event details was more frequent than occurrence-specific details, one third of participants answered a question about event frequency incorrectly (by saying they participated once), and the remaining participants provided few details about the other occurrences when directed to do so. Findings were consistent with the broader repeated event literature on children and adult witnesses recalling repeated events. This research provides guidance for investigative interviewers on how best to obtain accurate event-related information from minimally verbal adults about their experiences.

Purpose: Children’s narrative accounts of their experiences are central to the prosecution of perpetrators of alleged maltreatment. We describe the narrative language skills of children who were pl...

The present study evaluated whether the strength of relationship between child nonverbal behaviors (expressivity, attention, and coordination) across time points varied as a function of interviewer nonverbal behaviors (expressivity, attention, and coordination) under supportive versus neutral interviewing conditions. Children (n = 123) participated in an event where they were involved in breaking some rules. Three to four days later they were interviewed by either a supportive or neutral adult interviewer. Interviews were video recorded and nonverbal behaviors of both children and interviewers were coded. Multi-level modeling revealed that optimal interviewer nonverbal behaviors were predictive of optimal child nonverbal behaviors at the end of the interview. In contrast, explicitly manipulated interviewer supportiveness was related to suboptimal displays of child nonverbal behavior. Interestingly, as the interview progressed, optimally attentive interviewing was associated with suboptimal child expressivity scores. Likewise, displays of optimal interviewer coordination were associated with suboptimal child coordination scores over time. The implications of the findings for nonverbal behavior literature and professionals talking with children about sensitive information are discussed.

Child witness interviews frequently comprise the central evidence in child sexual assault prosecutions. The aim of the present study was to explore the association between interview quality, interview inconsistencies raised during cross-examination, and trial outcome, while taking into account the strength of the prosecution case. Sixty-nine interviews of child complainants (56 female; aged 6–18 years) were coded for quality (proportion of open-ended questions, interviewer compliance with best-practice, and evidential categories sought). Corresponding trial transcripts were coded for indicators of case strength including number of victims and corroborating evidence (e.g., DNA, eyewitnesses). Cross-examination transcripts were coded for inconsistencies within the child witness interview or between this interview and another statement by the same complainant. After controlling for number of victims and corroborative evidence, interview quality was not associated with trial outcomes. The strongest predictor of verdict was the number of victims: the greater the number of victims, the more likely the defendant was to be convicted of at least one count. The number of inconsistencies was marginally associated with outcome: the greater the number of inconsistencies, the more likely the defendant was to be acquitted. The findings highlight the importance of examining the trial as a whole when investigating the relationship between the child witness interviews and the legal process. Future studies are necessary to replicate these findings, ideally with interviews ranging in quality on key indicators of best-practice interviewing.

Purpose Labelling (i.e., naming) individual occurrences of repeated abuse allegations with explicit and consistent terms may improve children's reporting of these offences. The aim of the present study was to track labels for occurrences of alleged child sexual abuse from the police interview to court proceedings. Methods We examined the labels used in the police interviews and trials of 23 child complainants (5–15 years old at interview). The initiator of each label (child, interviewer, lawyer, or judge), stage of the process in which the label was generated, and the type of information used to label specific occurrences of abuse were recorded. Any subsequent reuse or replacement of the labels was also recorded. Results Most labels were created by police interviewers. Few children generated labels. Most occurrences of abuse were labelled early in the legal process; 82% were first labelled either in the police interview or in the prosecution's opening statement. The labels were frequently replaced with alternate terms, with an average of three different labels for the same incident. After original labels were established for occurrences, they were just as likely to be replaced as they were to be reused. The most frequently observed label replacement was by defence lawyers during cross‐examination. Conclusions Labels were used inconsistently throughout the police interview and trial. To give children the best chance of describing specific occurrences of abuse during legal proceedings, labels should be created from children's words wherever possible and used consistently thereafter by all justice professionals.

A properly conducted forensic interview has the greatest chance of eliciting a complete and accurate account from children about their experiences. We review the features of best practice interviews within the framework of a recent analysis of interviews from several Australian jurisdictions. Transcripts of 118 police interviews with child sexual abuse complainants were assessed on best practice measures related to: inclusion of appropriate introductory phases; use of questions that encourage narrative responding; avoidance of leading questions, nonverbal aids, and unnecessary questions. Although there were some positive features, in general the interviews were not consistent with primary criteria of a good interview. They were characterised by low proportions of open-ended prompts; high numbers of specific, leading, and developmentally inappropriate questions; complex delivery of ground rules; and the absence of open-ended practice narratives. We conclude by presenting evidence-based solutions to close the gap between knowledge of quality interviewing behaviours and putting those skills into practice.

Interviews with children form a major part of assessments in contested family law matters. This study provides a qualitative analysis of professionals’ perceptions regarding how children are interviewed for family law purposes and the challenges associated with these interviews. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 professionals who had experience in the area of family law and/or interviewing children. Transcripts of these interviews were analyzed using an inductive coding process and key themes identified. The overriding message found was that interviewing children for family law matters is complex and warrants considerable skill and expertise. The findings highlight the importance of recognizing the purpose of each child interview and the appropriate process and strategies to conduct each interview.

Children aged 6–8 (N = 84) were interviewed 1 week after participating in a repeated event. Half received training in labeling episodes of a repeated autobiographical event (Label Training); remaining children practiced talking about the same without label training (Standard Practice). Subsequently, children recalled the target event in two recall order conditions: script for the events followed by a specific instance (Generic‐first) or the reverse (Episodic‐first). Training effects were modest, but the research has important implications for interviewers' elicitation of children's labels for instances of repeated events because 98% of the labels generated were unique. The study provides additional support for the notion that recalling the script first can be beneficial. Children in the Generic‐first condition were more accurate for some types of details, and reported more information in the first half of the interview about details that changed across instances, than children in the Episodic‐first condition.

Estimates suggest that close to 3 million institutionalized children internationally have some family to whom they could go home. A proportion of these children is recruited from their communities under false pretenses and has false documentation that describes them as legal orphans. The orphanages where they live exploit them on the basis of their orphanhood. These children are known as paper orphans. The aim of the current article is to provide a profile of their origins and networks based on current available evidence, from an investigative interviewing perspective. Increased discussion and research of this problem will assist in supporting efforts towards reunification of children with families, investigations by law enforcement into orphanages, and successful prosecution of orphanage trafficking. The article provides an overview of the orphanage trafficking context, followed by a comparison of orphanage trafficking victims with other child trafficking victims from the perspective of investigative needs. Investigative needs are outlined with respect to two primary groups who would interview paper orphans and other involved parties (e.g., birth parents, orphanage staff)-law enforcement and reunification officers. In the final section of the article, we encourage further research on orphanage trafficking and provide initial guidance for interviewing in this unique context. This paper serves as a step to raise further awareness of paper orphans, orphanage trafficking, and the specific characteristics of their cases that affect research and planning into how to identify and interview them and others involved.

This study aims to provide a review of the current literature on the interviewing of children for family law matters as an up‐to‐date resource for practitioners who might be starting out in, or con...

The purpose of this study is to elicit guidance from prosecutors across Australia on questioning children about repeated events. Two focus groups were conducted. The first sought broad feedback concerning questioning children about repeated events. The second focused more specifically on eliciting feedback about techniques for aiding children in describing specific instances of repeated events. The techniques used are derived from a combination of empirical research and best practice interview guidelines. Data from both focus groups were compiled because themes were highly similar. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions revealed three broad themes in prosecutors' perceptions about questioning children about repeated abuse: a) permitting children to provide a full generic account before describing individual episodes of abuse, b) using the information obtained during the generic account to create episode labels, and c) probing incidences of abuse chronologically. These themes are discussed within the context of the child development and mnemonic literature, and implications for interviewing protocols are drawn.

Background The use of mock interviews (also known as role play), particularly using trained actors as interviewees, has demonstrated positive effects on communication training but little is known about how learners engage with these practice activities. Objective The current study was conducted to determine what perceptions forensic interviewers hold about mock interviews as a learning exercise for developing skills for child interviewing, and whether there are negative perceptions that could potentially have an impact on the helpfulness of the exercise. Participants: Written reflections were obtained from 35 US forensic interviewing professionals who were enrolled in an online child interviewer training program. Methods Common themes were extracted from the reflections to establish forensic interviewers’ perceptions of aspects of the mock interview. Extraction of themes assisted in the determination of whether perceptions impacted the manner and degree to which interviewers engaged in the mock interview process. Results Results suggest that regardless of potential anxiety, learners experience multiple benefits from the mock interview. Conclusions: Findings from the present study suggests suggest most trainees perceive mock interviews favourably, and they are useful in child interview training programs.

This chapter provides an overview of police organizational approaches to enhancing the quality of evidence obtained from adult and child victims of sexual assault, and reviews the degree to which actual organizational strategies are aligned with the guidance on what constitutes recommended (ideal) practice. The long-standing gap between best practice interview technique – as taught in training curricula – and actual practice in the field is a dominant theme in contemporary interviewing research. Based on our understanding of current research on investigative interviewing as well as international police interviewer training practices, we provide an overview of key criteria for evidence-based practice along with a list of common limitations that inhibit adherence to best interviewing practice. The chapter is structured around four main elements that are essential for promoting good interviewing. These elements include: (a) an evidence-based interview framework, (b) opportunities for skill development, (c) quality assurance for interviewer and organizational performance, and (d) a reliable method of recording verbal evidence.

OBJECTIVES: Child witnesses often describe their experiences across multiple interviews. It is unknown whether talking with a familiar interviewer increases disclosures, however, or whether any benefits of a familiar interviewer could be achieved by ensuring that interviewers (regardless of familiarity) behave in socially supportive ways. This study tested the effects of interviewer familiarity and social support on children's reports of an adult's transgressions. HYPOTHESES: We predicted that familiarity and supportiveness would increase transgression reports at a second interview and that children who spoke with familiar, supportive interviewers would disclose the most transgressions. METHOD: Children (N = 160, 5 to 9 years) participated in a science event involving 6 transgressions. Across 2 interviews, they spoke with the same trained university student interviewer or different interviewers, and these interviewers engaged in supportive or neutral behaviors. Interviews were coded for overall information reported, number of transgressions, and confabulations. RESULTS: There were no effects of support in the first interview or on total details reported in either interview. Children reported more transgressions to supportive than neutral interviewers in the second interview (IRR = 1.19), even during open-ended prompting (IRR = 1.26), and they omitted fewer transgressions that had been reported in the first interview (IRR = 0.69). Confabulations were infrequent. There were no condition differences in the total number of confabulations reported across interviews, but these errors occurred more often in the second interview in the supportive condition. CONCLUSIONS: Interviewer support may play a greater role than familiarity in facilitating children's testimony. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The current study explored children’s perceptions of open and closed questions in an interview setting. Children aged 7–12 ( n = 83) years watched a short film and were questioned about it by an interviewer who asked only open questions and an interviewer who asked only closed questions (counterbalanced). A third interviewer subsequently invited perceptions of each interview by asking children to compare the interviews on 10 attributes (e.g., length, perceived interviewer interest). Children’s comparisons on each of the 10 attributes were analyzed quantitatively and their responses to the follow-up questions underwent thematic analysis. Overall, children tended to find closed questions easier than open questions because they required less thought to answer but felt more listened to and better able to give their stories in response to open questions. Their perceptions frequently matched findings in the literature about the utility of open versus closed questions. The research has implications for interviews with child victims.

Researchers have demonstrated that interviewer supportive behaviors positively affect children's abilities to provide information about their experiences in many circumstances, but there is some evidence that supportiveness effects may be influenced by children's temperament. The associations among interviewer support, child temperament, and children's propensity to disclose adult transgressions during free recall remain unclear. Children (N = 132) 5 to 9 years old partook in an event where an adult confederate committed six transgressions. The children were interviewed a few days later; half by a supportive interviewer and half by a neutral interviewer. Within two to three months of their participation, the children's teachers completed a questionnaire to describe each child's temperament. While interviewer support did not predict these children's disclosure of transgressions, dimensions of child temperament and individual factors did. Specifically, children's disclosure tendencies were predicted by how socially flexible and task-oriented they were. Additionally, the interviewers' questioning behavior was impacted by children's level of reactivity. Taken together with other research, the results provide further evidence that behaviors of both the interviewers and the children in the interview process are relevant to facilitating children's disclosures of sensitive information.

Purpose Recent advances in technology have raised a potentially promising service to overcome difficulties associated with remote witnesses: live video-feed interviews. The efficacy of this mode of interviewing, however, lacks empirical evidence, particularly with children in an investigative context. Methods This study explored the effects of live video-feed compared to face-to-face interviewing on the memory reports of 100 children (aged 5–12). Children participated in an innocuous event and were interviewed 1–2 days later by experienced interviewers. Results Analyses indicated that live video-feed interviewing was just as effective as face-to-face interviewing in terms of the accuracy and informativeness of children's accounts. Video-feed interviews, however, required a higher number of clarification prompts compared to face-to-face interviews. These findings were not influenced by children's familiarity with technology. Conclusions An initial test of live video-feed interviewing indicates it is a safe and effective method for interviewing children about an innocuous event.

This study examined the investigative interviewing of Australian Aboriginal children in cases of alleged sexual abuse, with a focus on three commonly included components of interview protocols: ground rules, practice narrative, and substantive phase. Analysis of 70 field transcripts revealed that the overall delivery and practice of ground rules at the beginning of the interview was positively associated with the spontaneous usage of rules in children's narratives of abuse. When specifically examining the "don't know" rule, however, only practice had an effect of children's usage of the rule (as opposed to simple delivery or no delivery at all). Children spoke more words overall, and interviewers used more open-ended prompts during the substantive phase when the interviews contained a practice narrative. Children most often disclosed sexual abuse in response to an open-ended prompt; however, they produced the most words in response to suggestive prompts. This article concludes with a discussion of the effectiveness of ground rules, practice narratives, and questioning with Aboriginal children.

Purpose – Interviewing victims of child sex abuse requires considerable care in order to minimise error. Due to children’s heightened suggestibility any question asked of a child could potentially incite error that could undermine the witness’s credibility. A focus group was conducted in order to facilitate the development of guidance for interviewers around the circumstances in which it is necessary to ask children follow-up questions in an interview. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Seven Crown prosecutors representing every Australian state and territory (with the exception of one small state) were issued with 25 hypothetical narrative accounts of child abuse and asked to indicate what information, if any, required follow-up in the child’s narrative. Their responses and rationale for requiring following up in some cases and not others were discussed. Findings – Thematic analysis revealed three recommendations to guide questioning: whether the case involved identification or recognition evidence; the presence of contextual features that may influence the witness’s memory, or that should trigger a particular line of questioning; and whether the information can or should be sought at a later stage by the trial prosecutor, rather than by the interviewer. Practical implications – The recommendations are discussed within the context of their implications for interviewing, that is, how each recommendation could be implemented in practice. Originality/value – The present study extends prior literature by elucidating principles to guide decision making across interview topic areas. The need for such guidance is highlighted by research suggesting that topics such as offender identity, offence time and place, and witnesses are a source of overzealous questioning in interviews.

This paper provides interview strategies for teachers who talk to children about serious events, including bullying, truancy, and suspected maltreatment. With regard to the latter, teachers are among the largest group of professionals reporting child abuse, but also tend to evince low substantiation rates. We review research on best practice interviewing, with a focus on its application in school settings. Interview phases are described chronologically, with interview excerpts included for illustrative purposes. Gaps in knowledge about the appropriateness of techniques are highlighted, and recommendations for future research specifically within the school setting are made. It is proposed that teachers receive basic training in best practice interviewing so that, when required, they can confidently ask about difficulties in children's lives while minimizing the potential for contamination of children's responses.

This study inspected a sample of 70 interview transcripts with Australian Aboriginal children to gain a sense of how frequently verbal shame responses were occurring in investigative interviews regarding alleged sexual abuse. Transcripts were examined to determine how children articulated shame, how interviewers reacted to these responses, and how shame related to children's accounts. Examination of frequencies revealed that verbal shame responses occurred in just over one-quarter of the interviews. One-way analyses of variance indicated that children who expressed shame within the interview spoke the same amount as children who did not express shame, however, they required more interviewer prompts before a disclosure was made. Interviews where children expressed shame also included a greater number of interviewer reminders compared to interviews without shame responses. Results emphasize the importance of interviewer awareness of shame, and also point to the value of reassurance, patience, and persistence with non-leading narrative prompting when interviewing children who express shame during discussions of sexual abuse.

This article reports on the evaluation of an interactive interviewer training system with a large, heterogeneous sample of investigative interviewers of children. The system, delivered predominantly through computer-assisted learning activities, focused on how to elicit important evidential details from child witnesses in a narrative format. Two studies are reported, each adopting a pre-versus posttraining design. Study 1 examined the effect of the training on trainees' (N = 92) performance, using mock interviews where an actor played the role of the child in a highly controlled manner. Study 2 examined the effect of the training on field interviews (N = 156) conducted prior to and after the training. Five measures were analyzed: (a) proportion of interviewer question types, (b) proportion of desirable interviewer behaviors, (c) adherence to the interview protocol, (d) interview length, and (e) the quality of evidential information sought. Overall, the findings provide clear support for the utility of the training system. Irrespective of the type of interview or measure, adherence to best-practice interviewing increased from pre- to posttraining, with some evidence supporting sustained performance 12 months after there had been no intervening training or supervision. The implication is that there is now an evidence-based alternative to the traditional classroom-based training system for investigative interviewers. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.

This article examined organisational challenges arising from the implementation of a new training course for investigative interviewers of vulnerable witnesses. The course was delivered via e-learning (computer exercises) and also involved mock interviews conducted over the telephone. Thematic analysis was conducted of: (a) trainees’ anonymous written feedback submitted to an online discussion forum on the training programme’s website, (b) trainees’ responses to face-to-face questions during semi-structured qualitative interviews, and (c) correspondence between trainees and trainers regarding the training programme. Despite unanimous support for the new training programme, three challenges were identified: limited allocated work time to complete the training, conflicting work practices arising from staggered course enrolment, and difficulties associated with computer and technical skills. These organisational challenges must be addressed to ensure that any future evaluation of the programme on skill performance provides a true indication of the programme’s impact on skill development. From a managerial perspective, organisational challenges need to be addressed in order to maximise the accessibility, completion and long-term success of an e-learning training model for interviewers.

This study explored the perceptions of ten Crown Prosecutors about the utility of police interviews as video evidence-in-chief for adult sexual assault complainants to determine how to improve these interviews. A themed analysis of prosecutors' responses indicated three major concerns about these interviews: the interviewer using wordy instructions, the lack of chronology and logical structure, and the relentless pursuit of unnecessary detail. These findings suggest that prosecutors' concerns are primarily due to police using cognitive interview methods that attempt to enhance the amount of detail recalled by a complainant. The authors discuss why generating large amounts of detail may be problematic in interviews with sexual assault complainants and provide recommendations for how police can adapt interview practices to better meet evidential needs.

Police interviews with offenders form an important component of the sex offender registry monitoring process. This study provides an analysis of police professionals' perceptions of the benefits an...

Background: Teachers are required to report suspected child abuse in many parts of the world, but there is a paucity of research characterising how they question children about wrongdoing. Aims: Because children often speak to multiple people before arriving at a forensic interview it is critical to understand how untrained teachers question children. Sample and Methods: Teachers (n = 47) completed a mock interview, written quiz, and rated their expected performance. Results: In both the interview and quiz, teachers asked few open and many leading questions. Yet, they asked proportionally more open and fewer leading questions on the quiz than during the interview, demonstrating an implicit awareness of good questioning. Holding a higher education level degree was associated with asking fewer questions overall, and fewer leading questions, during the mock interview. Higher perceptions of performance after the mock interview were associated with having asked more open and more specific questions. Conclusions: Overall, teachers asked fewer open questions than desired but also demonstrated some awareness of good interviewing skill. We review the teachers' performance by highlighting the positive aspects of their interviewing skills, identifying areas for improvement, and making suggestions for enhancing teachers' abilities to question children about wrongdoing. Copyright © Australian Psychological Society Ltd 2014.

The complexity and effort required to achieve the widespread implementation of best-practice child interview guidelines justifies the establishment of structures to enhance cross-jurisdictional sharing of expertise, resources and training delivery support. Australia has made great strides toward such a system via work currently being undertaken by police jurisdictions to facilitate greater consistency in education and training for practitioners in the area of investigative interviewing, strengthening collaboration between police and tertiary education institutions, and growing commitment to evidence-based policy and practice among police executives. To maximise progress, however, organisations need to consider the development of a coordinated continual quality improvement approach. This will be impeded by three structural elements: access to field interviews for practitioner feedback and organisational evaluation, interviewer tenure and case tracking. This article discusses each element, their roles withi...

The current study adopted a pre- versus post-training design and a standardised measure of performance to evaluate the effectiveness of a series of online computer-based learning activities designed to encourage open-ended question usage among investigative interviewers of children. Participants included 61 social workers, police and psychologists. The learning activities, organised into 12 modules of approximately 3 hours duration each, focused purely on the skill of eliciting a disclosure of sexual abuse and a narrative account of the offence from a young child. Results revealed a significant improvement in interview performance from pre-training to immediate post-training. For the 25 participants who also completed a follow-up assessment three to six months after completing the learning activities, performance was found to be maintained. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

For just over 2 decades, researchers have been conducting empirical studies devoted to understanding children's memory for, and ability to describe, individual occurrences of events they have experienced repeatedly. This knowledge is critical because children making allegations of repeated abuse are required to provide details particular to an individual incident in many jurisdictions internationally. Much of this work has thus far been conducted in rigorously controlled analog settings, and empirical study of their generalizability to the context of field interviews is urgently needed. We outline in detail the empirical and theoretical foundations that underlie a set of specific suggestions that practitioners might consider when assisting children to report as much information as possible about individual occurrences of repeated abuse. Our recommendations cover both presubstantive (i.e., "practice") and substantive phases of the interview. The particular challenges involved with describing individual incidents of repeated events are discussed, followed by evidence-based guidelines aimed at overcoming these difficulties. We highlight research that has included comparisons between lab and field data, and draw attention to areas of understanding that require further validation in forensic interviews. The inaugural guidelines we present are not meant as a replacement to existing best-practice interviews, but to serve as more detailed procedures in cases of repeated allegations. © 2014 American Psychological Association.

Adequate interviewing of alleged victims of child sexual abuse is critical for the investigation and for preserving the welfare of the child. Investigative interview protocols for children (IIPCs) have been developed to meet this twofold purpose. This article focuses on one previously unexplored issue related to applicability of IIPCs: how well they translate into other languages. This case study provides an in-depth analysis of an example of the translation of an IIPC to a new language and its adaptation to a particular cultural setting. Using an interpretive description approach and a mixed-method, stages and outputs of the adaptation process are described, as well as the amount, type and nature of difficulties in translation that were identified and corrected across the process. The main threats to translation equivalence arose from differences among languages, but also from cultural and contextual differences. Prompts to children and interviewers within the protocol presented different translation challenges. Consultation with experts and the protocol's advisors, along with team discussions, were beneficial in identifying and solving translation issues. Typical translation issues and practical recommendations on how to translate and culturally adapt IIPCs effectively are discussed.

This comment provides an overview of the main barriers to eliciting quality evidence from child witnesses in sexual abuse cases and recent attempts within several Australian jurisdictions to overcome these barriers. The comment takes a constructive approach. Recommendations relate to five themes: adoption of a narrative framework, quality of training, interviewer workplace climate, prosecutor feedback, and ongoing case tracking and evaluation. While the focus is on child witnesses, the recommendations also apply to other vulnerable witnesses and adults.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the nature and prevalence of workplace stressors faced by interviewers of child sexual assault victims.Design/methodology/approachTotally, 68 professionals (police and child protection workers) were invited to anonymously post their perceptions of workplace stressors on an internet forum as part of an investigative interviewing online training course. Specifically, participants were asked to reflect on salient sources of stress encountered in their role of interviewing sexually abused children.FindingsThree key stressors were identified across the study's professional groups: inadequate recognition of specialised skills; high‐workload demands; and interagency tensions. Consistent with previous research, exposure to child‐abuse reports was not raised as a stressor.Research limitations/implicationsThe study generated suggestions for modifying management practices; however, future research should identify and trial strategies for improving workplace climate in child‐abuse investigation.Practical implicationsAs the stressors isolated by participants related to workplace climate rather than exposure to victims’ accounts of child abuse, minimising negative consequences of work stressors requires changes to workplace culture and practice. Workplace climates need to be modified so that the demands are offset by resources.Originality/valueBecause of its online, anonymous nature, this was the first study to offer participants the opportunity to honestly disclose primary sources of stress in child‐abuse investigation. The research also makes a much‐needed contribution to an area of police practice that is vital yet often overlooked.

This study examined the incidence and nature of the errors made by trainee coders during their coding of question types in interviews in which children disclosed abuse. Three groups of trainees (online, postgraduate and police) studied the coding manual before practising their question coding. After this practice, participants were given two-page field transcripts to code in which children disclosed abuse. Their coding was assessed for accuracy; any errors were analysed thematically. The overall error rate was low, and police participants made the fewest errors. Analysis of the errors revealed four common misunderstandings: (1) the use of a ‘wh’ question always denotes a specific cued-recall question; (2) ‘ Tell me’ always constitutes an open-ended question; (3) open-ended questions cannot include specific detail; and (4) specific questions cannot elicit elaborate responses. An analysis of coding accuracy in the one group who were able to practise question coding over time revealed that practice was essential for trainees to maintain their accuracy. Those who did not practise decreased in coding accuracy. This research shows that trainees need more than a coding manual; they must demonstrate their understanding of question codes through practice training tasks. Misunderstandings about questions need to be elicited and corrected so that accurate codes are used in future tasks.

This article examined adherence to current best practice recommendations for police interviewing of individuals suspected of committing child-sexual offences. We analysed 81 police records of interviews (electronically recorded and then transcribed) with suspects in child-sexual abuse cases in England and Australia. Overall we found areas of skilled practice, indicating that police interviewing in Australia and England is in a far better place than 20 years ago. However, this study also demonstrated that there is still a gap between the recommended guidelines for interviewing and what actually happens in practice. Specifically, limitations were found in the following areas: transparency of the interview process; introduction of allegations; disclosure of evidence; questioning techniques; and the interviewing approach or manner adopted. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Child sexual abuse cases are often not prosecuted because of poor evidential quality. The aim of this study was to elicit suggestions from prosecutors as to how investigative interviews with child witnesses (the main form of evidence in child abuse cases) could be improved. Thirty-six in-depth phone interviews were held with 19 trial prosecutors shortly before and after trials. For each case, prosecutors were asked to provide feedback about the strengths and limitations of the child witness interviews, along with suggestions for how the interviews could have been improved. Thematic analysis revealed three broad areas for improvement: the need for tighter focus on the elements of the offence, better clarification of inconsistencies and ambiguities in the account, and greater consideration of how the child presents in the eyes of the jury. These areas, along with the prosecutors' practical suggestions, are outlined. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for trainers in child witness interviewing.

Recent research has established that investigative interviewers have difficulty adhering to open-ended questions and instead ask specific questions when interviewing children about abuse. The current study aims to examine the themes in abuse-related interviews that trigger investigators to ask specific questions. Twenty police officers who were authorised to conduct investigative interviews with children completed a mock interview with an expert in child abuse interviewing who had been trained to play the role of an abused child. During the interview, the officers were stopped by a researcher and asked to reflect on why they had asked specific questions. Overall, the results revealed five areas where the officers deviated from open-ended questions. These related to: (1) the identity of the alleged offender; (2) the meaning of terms used by the child to describe genitals; (3) whether or not penetration occurred; (4) the offender's intent and motives; and (5) the timing of the abuse and where it occurred. Each of these themes is discussed, along with the implications for trainers and researchers in child abuse interviewing.

Eliciting disclosures of abuse from children is a challenging skill that requires considerable practice, feedback, training and instruction. While there is an abundance of literature outlining what constitutes best practice interviewing of children, there has been little discussion, in particular, of investigative interviewers’ limitations when applying best practice interview guidelines to elicit disclosures of abusive acts. This paper assists police by identifying common problems of child investigative interviewers when eliciting disclosures (N = 131) and provides alternate questioning strategies. The results support the need for further training to be developed to ensure better adherence to best practice guidelines in relation to all aspects of eliciting a disclosure from children.

It is well established that not all investigative interviewers adhere to ‘best-practice’ interview guidelines (i.e., the use of open-ended questions) when interviewing child witnesses about abuse. However, little research has examined the sub skills associated with open question usage. In this article, we examined the association between investigative interviewers' ability to identify various types of questions and adherence to open-ended questions in a standardized mock interview. Study 1, incorporating 27 trainee police interviewers, revealed positive associations between open-ended question usage and two tasks; a recognition task where trainees used a structured protocol to guide their response and a recall task where they generated examples of open-ended questions from memory. In Study 2, incorporating a more heterogeneous sample of 40 professionals and a different training format and range of tests, positive relationships between interviewers' identification of questions and adherence to best-practice interviewing was consistently revealed. A measure of interviewer knowledge about what constitutes best-practice investigative (as opposed to knowledge of question types) showed no association with interviewer performance. The implications of these findings for interviewer training programs are discussed.

We present three studies examining the role of prior job experience in interviewing and interviewers' ability to learn open-ended questions during a training program. We predicted a negative relationship such that more experienced interviewers would perform worse after training than less experienced interviewers, and that (irrespective of baseline performance) the more experienced interviewers would improve the least during training. These predictions were made for two reasons. First, specific questions are commonly used in the workplace (i.e. open-ended questioning constitutes new learning). Second, experience in the use of specific questions potentially interferes with newly learned open-ended questions. Overall, our predictions were supported across different participant samples (including police officers specialized in child abuse investigation and social workers from the child protection area), time delays, and modes of training. The results highlight the need for investment in ongoing investigative ...

Interviewers given prior information are biassed to seek it from interviewees. We examined whether the detrimental impact of this confirmation bias in terms of leading question use was moderated by interviewers' demonstrated ability to adhere to open questions. We classified interviewers' adherence as 'good' or 'poor' in an independent interview before they interviewed children about a staged event. Half the interviewers were given biassing true and false information about the event; half were given no information. As predicted, only poor interviewers showed the effect of bias. Poor interviewers asked fewer open questions in the biassed condition than the non-biassed condition; good interviewers asked the same (high) proportion of open questions in both conditions. Poor interviewers asked more leading questions in the biassed condition than the non-biassed condition; good interviewers asked the same (low) proportion of leading questions in both conditions. These results demonstrate that interviewers' skill in adhering to open questions reduces the detrimental impact of confirmation bias on question type.

The purpose of this paper is to provide some guidance to police interviewers and trainers in relation to improving the legal aspects of police questioning of suspects. The paper is written with reference to Victorian legislation. Sixteen professionals (defence barristers, academics, prosecutors, and detectives), all with extensive knowledge of the law and experience evaluating police interviews with suspects, took part in individual in-depth interviews (M = 100 minutes). The aim of the interviews was to discuss the limitations of police interviews with suspects and to provide exemplars of concerns from a set of de-identified transcripts that had been provided to the professionals prior to their interviews with us. Overall, four key limitations were raised: (a) inadequate particularisation of offences, (b) inappropriate phrasing of questions, (c) poor introduction of allegations, and (d) questions that unfairly ask the suspect to comment on the victim's perspective. These concerns and their practical impli...

Although it is extremely important when interviewing children about alleged abuse to determine whether the abuse was a single or a repeated occurrence, we have little information about how children judge the frequency of events. The aim of the current study was to examine children's accuracy in providing estimates of event frequency that were numerical (that is, 1, 2, 3, …) and qualitative (that is, once, a few times, or many times). Younger (4- to 5-year-old) and older (6- to 8-year-old) children took part in a single event or an event that was repeated 6 or 11 times. They were interviewed after a short or long delay; some were interviewed a second time. Overall, children were very accurate at judging the frequency of a single event, but much less so for repeated events. Based on our findings, we make two recommendations for professionals trying to establish the frequency of events when interviewing young children.

Obtaining a narrative account from a suspect during an investigative interview is recommended in the literature as best practice. However, research shows that interviewers have difficulty adhering to this recommendation. This paper aims to provide police officers who interview sex offender suspects with suggestions that may assist them in the application of a narrative framework. Our approach involved individual in-depth interviews with experts (N = 16: police trainers, detectives, expert witnesses, defence barristers, and prosecutors) who were leaders in their relative fields, particularly in relation to interviews with sex offender suspects. Specifically, the experts were asked to talk about the process of interviewing and what constitutes a good interview with a sex offender suspect. Several strategies that may assist officers in adhering to a narrative framework were extracted through qualitative analysis of the data. These strategies are described under the following headings: letting the suspects answer the allegations put to them, transferring the locus of control to the suspect, adopting strategies to overcome emotional barriers to reporting, and focusing on the relationship between the suspect and the victim. Directions for future research and training intervention are also discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.