Intoxicated eyewitnesses: prevalence and procedures according to England’s police officers

Despite the apparent role alcohol plays in criminal offences, there is at present no evidence available as to the extent of the problem of intoxicated witnesses within England. To address this lack of research, police officers from seven constabularies completed an online survey addressing issues such as the prevalence of intoxicated witnesses, how officers determine intoxication, the procedures employed and their effectiveness. Officers indicated that intoxicated witnesses were a common, to very common, occurrence with most officers determining intoxication through physical symptoms and the witness’s own admission. In terms of interviewing witnesses, the majority of officers indicated that initial details were taken whilst witnesses were intoxicated, but the evidential interview was taken when sober. Officers also indicated that if the witness was intoxicated then the case was less likely to proceed to court and that officers viewed the witness as less accurate. These findings are considered from a criminal justice perspective and discussed in relation to future research.     

The cognitive interview: An innovative technique for questioning witnesses of crime

Conclusions Historically, little training has been available for investigators on interviewing witnesses and victims, but the critiques of both laboratory and field interviews indicate that current standard interview techniques can be improved considerably through training. The results of each of the studies reported here confirm that cognitive interviewing reliably enhances the completeness of a witness's recollection, and without increasing the number of incorrect or confabulated bits of information generated. Based on the examination of several interviews, a revision of the original Cognitive Interview was made, which was found further to enhance the quality of witness reports. The procedures are easy to learn and can be readily adopted in routine police interview procedures. In fact, the Cognitive Interview currently is in use as standard training at several police departments and at other law enforcement agencies. Further information regarding the Cognitive Interview technique and training programs for investigators can be obtained from either of the authors.     

Police officers' perceptions of older eyewitnesses

Purpose. This study examined United Kingdom police officers' perceptions about older witnesses (>60 years) and their thoughts about employing the cognitive interview (CI) with this group. Method. A questionnaire was used to assess officers' opinions about current interviewing protocols for older witnesses, including the CI, and to explore the challenges involved with interviewing older witnesses. Results. Over half of the officers surveyed perceived older witnesses to be less reliable and less thorough than younger witnesses. Many officers lacked confidence in dealing with the emotional distress and memory loss often displayed by older witnesses and victims. Several officers stated they were inadequately trained and had insufficient time to devote to interviewing in general. Moreover, the number of officers who considered the CI to be helpful with older witnesses was roughly equivalent to the number of officers who believed it was not. Conclusions. These results suggest that police officers, like mock jurors, consider older adult witnesses and victims to be less reliable and thorough than younger adult witnesses. Furthermore, the results indicate that many officers are not always satisfied with their interviews of older witnesses and victims. Implications for officer training are discussed.     

Eye-closure improves memory for a witnessed event under naturalistic conditions

Eye-closure may help people remember live and videotaped mundane events and videotaped violent events. The present study extended this research by examining memory for a forensically relevant live event (a staged verbal altercation) and by interviewing witnesses under naturalistic conditions. Ninety-six witnesses were interviewed either inside in a quiet setting or outside on a busy street, with eyes open or closed. In free recall, eye-closure significantly increased the number of correct details reported, without harming testimonial accuracy. These benefits were significant for witnesses interviewed inside but not for witnesses interviewed outside. This finding highlights the potential role of spontaneous mental context reinstatement in the eye-closure effect. In cued recall, eye-closure improved fine-grain correct recall of visual details for both groups of witnesses. From an applied perspective, the findings suggest that police interviewers should instruct witnesses to close their eyes, both during initial statements taken on the street and during full interviews conducted at the police station.     

A field study of adult witness interviewing practices in a Canadian police organization

Purpose. The current study examined witness interviewing practices in a Canadian police organization. The effect of interviewer, interviewee, and interview characteristics on those practices was also examined. Method. Ninety witness interviews from a Canadian police organization were coded for the following interviewing practices: types of questions asked (i.e. open‐ended, probing, closed‐ended, clarification, multiple, leading, opinion/statement, and re‐asked), the number of interruptions, percentage of words spoken by interviewer, type of pre‐interview instructions (consequential vs. generic), and whether or not a free narrative was requested (and when requested during the interview). Characteristics pertaining to the interviewer (e.g. primary interviewer's age), interviewee (e.g. witness gender), and interview (e.g. crime type) were also coded. Results. Results showed that closed‐ended and probing questions were the most widely asked questions, and that open‐ended questions were asked relatively infrequently. It was also found that the 80–20 talking rule was violated in 89% of the interviews, interviewers rarely interrupted the witnesses, and free narratives were requested often. Overall, the effect of interviewer, interview, or interviewee characteristics on interviewing practices was minimal. Conclusions. The finding that scientifically prescribed interviewing practices are employed rarely by Canadian police officers highlights a need for increased professional interviewing training. The finding that practices are largely unaffected by personal and situational factors suggests that such training would be equally beneficial for all types of interviewers, interviewees, and contexts.     

警察作证制度的理论推演与实证分析

警察作证是推进证人出庭作证制度完善的重要一环。证人的党派性不应成为证人能力限制的理由 ;警察作证的公务性有利于保障其证言的客观性。警察作证不仅有利于案件真实的发现和实体法律的正确适用 ,而且有利于激发刑事诉讼各方参与者的主动性 ,彰显程序自身的公正性 ,还可有力地约束警察的非法取证行为。警察作证的公务性、事后性、倾向性是警察证人与普通证人的区别所在     

Greek police officers' attitudes towards the mentally ill

The deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and their shift into the community lead the police to play an important role in the management of acute psychiatric states. This study examines the attitudes of the Greek police towards the mentally ill, and the problems that arise during the transfer of mentally ill people to psychiatric emergency departments. Results highlight policemen misperceptions, and the difficulties encountered during transport procedures, which may be attributed to insufficient knowledge about mental illness and lack of training, respectively. Furthermore, this article discusses the need for police educational intervention, and the formation of specialized teams to improve the handling of mentally ill in crisis situations.     

Children don't always tell the truth

Although children are being more frequently called as witnesses in court proceedings, they often do not tell the truth. If lying is defined as giving a false statement for personal gain, then lying is only one of several causes for children not giving an accurate account of events. Other reasons include an immature brain, a congenitally acquired defect in the central nervous system, or the presence of an emotional disturbance such as psychosis or hysteria. The desire of a child to please others--that is, parents, therapists, or lawyers--may also result in an invalid statement. These factors and motivations should be considered in trying to interpret a youngster's statement.     

Towards Good Practice in Juvenile Justice Policy in the Commonwealth

Any witness who is not able to testify due to lack of support or protection is a loss to the proper functioning of a criminal justice system. In this context it is generally accepted that creating a climate for witnesses to testify truthfully and without fear of reprisals is essential to fulfilling the goals of truth and justice. Accordingly, addressing the issues of witness protection and support is a central aspect of a well-functioning criminal justice system; one that contributes not only to the rule of law through more effective investigations and trials, but also ensures that witnesses are treated with the recognition and care they deserve for their contribution to finding the truth. The principle that victims in the criminal justice system must be treated with courtesy, compassion and respect for their personal dignity entails a responsibility on the part of national authorities to realise this basic principle through the development of appropriate mechanisms designed to provide assistance to the victims. However, building effective national victims/witness support and protection is challenging for any state, and especially so for small Commonwealth jurisdictions due to capacity and other constraints. The Commonwealth seeks to provide technical assistance and capacity building to support its members in promoting the rule of law and has developed and disseminated a best practice guide for the protection of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system. This article seeks to highlight the valuable findings of the Commonwealth guide and to provide guidance to policy-makers, legislators, police, prosecutors and other stakeholders in criminal justice practice.     

The Challenges of Moving into Middle Management: Responses from Police Officers

The role of the middle manager is crucial to a police organization. Despite this, little research exists concerning the characteristics of effective police managers, or the role that the promotional process and/or training plays in identifying and developing effective managers. To examine these issues, 328 Canadian police officers were surveyed and interviews were conducted with an additional 50 police professionals. The results highlight: (1) the importance of management in achieving organizational goals, (2) key characteristics of effective managers and common mistakes managers make, and (3) concerns surrounding the promotional process and the lack of managerial training. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Guidelines for empirically assessing the fairness of a lineup

Issues regarding the fairness of lineups used for criminal identification are discussed in the context of a distinction between nominal size and functional size. Nominal size (the number of persons in the lineup) is less important for determining the fairness of a lineup than is functional size (the number of lineup members resembling the criminal). Functional size decreases to the extent that the nonsuspect members of the lineup are easily ruled out as not being suspected by the police. The extent to which the identification of the suspect can be considered an independently derived piece of incriminating evidence is positively related to functional size. Empirical estimates of functional size can be obtained through pictures of the corporal lineup from which mock witnesses make guesses of whom they believe the police suspect. A distinction is made between a functional size approach and hypothesis testing approaches. Uses of functional size notions in the court, by police, and in research are discussed.     

Co‐witness information influences whether a witness is likely to choose from a lineup

Purpose. Much crime is witnessed by more than one eyewitness, and witnesses may learn information about other witness's decisions throughout the identification and trial process. The objective of this paper was to investigate whether hearing about a co‐witness's type of lineup decision and subsequent confidence level affects another witness's type of lineup choice. Methods. A total of 304 undergraduate students watched a crime video with a confederate co‐witness. After the video, the witnesses completed an identification task. Prior to completing the task, the participant learned that the confederate co‐witness either chose from or rejected the lineup and was subsequently confident or not confident in that decision (or heard no co‐witness information). Participants completed the identification task using either a target present (TP) or target absent (TA) lineup. Results. Overall, those who heard the co‐witness chose from the lineup were more likely to choose from the lineup than those who heard no co‐witness information or who heard the co‐witness rejected the lineup. In addition, witnesses who chose from the lineup and heard the co‐witness chose from or rejected the lineup expressed more confidence in that choice if the co‐witness was more confident versus if the co‐witness was less confident. Conclusions. In cases of multiple witnesses, identification decisions may not be independent pieces of evidence. Therefore, it is important that police separate co‐witnesses throughout the identification process.     

Crisis intervention skills training for police negotiators in the 21st century

Summary While Crisis Management training and intervention skills are not new areas for police officers or for police crisis negotiators, it is certainly true that such training must be included in the overall preparation for police officers in general and for police crisis negotiators in particular. Not to do so ignores the need for such skills in the day-to-day functions and calls-for-service of these groups. It has been the experience of this author, in talking with police negotiators, that more and more calls for their services are being made, in situations which are non-hostage related, than ever before. These areas continue to include barricaded individuals, suicidal persons, family disputes in which one member of the family is holding other members of the family against their will, and abuse situations including spouse abuse and child abuse. Additional areas include those in which there are juveniles involved as well as within school settings. Some of the latter may involve hostages while others do not. Finally, it is becoming less unusual for negotiators to be summoned only to find that the subject has engaged in acts designed to evoke fatal responses from those officers involved. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “death by cop.” Further, it is also important that those indirectly involved in these situations receive this type of Crisis Intervention training. These may include first response officers, first response police and security personnel in our public and private schools, security officers in our hospitals and courthouses, and others who, due to their particular jobs, may be involved in these types of incidents.     

Psychological vulnerabilities during police interviews. Why are they important?

Over the past three decades much has been learned about the role and importance of psychological vulnerabilities in the context of unreliability of information obtained during police interviews. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge and explains why vulnerabilities are important. Psychological vulnerabilities are best construed as potential ‘risk factors’ rather than definitive markers of unreliability. They are important, because they may place witnesses, victims, and suspects at a disadvantage in terms of coping with the demand characteristics of the interview (and subsequent Court process) and being able to provide the police with salient, detailed, accurate, and coherent answers to questions. Early identification of relevant and pertinent vulnerabilities in the interview process helps to ensure fairness and justice. Currently, the identification of vulnerabilities is poor, and even when identified, they are not always acted upon. Nevertheless, England has taken the lead in improving the police interview process and the protection of vulnerable interviewees. More work needs to be done, but the Bradley Report recommendations represent an excellent opportunity for police and health care professionals to work together to improve justice for all. This is the key initial interface that will be vital for reducing future miscarriages of justice.     

Cadaver mix-up--an avoidable problem?

Depending on local conditions it may happen from time to time that no officer involved in the previous investigation is present during the forensic autopsy. In this case, the post mortem examiner often has to rely solely on written documentation concerning the identity of the deceased. The authors report a case where the body had already been mixed up with another body by the undertaker prior to the inspection by the police. In spite of clear distinguishing characteristics in the written documentation, this led to the wrong body being autopsied. For the post mortem examiner, the only safe way to identify a body seems to be the presence of persons who had known the deceased or of police officers as acknowledging witnesses. If these conditions are not given, other means of safe information on the identity are called for, for example a "police body card" similar to an evidence card.     

An exploration of attitudes and support needs of police officer negotiators involved in suicide negotiation

This study explored the attitudes and support needs of police officer negotiators involved in suicide negotiation. A qualitative approach was adopted, applying principles of grounded theory research. Purposive sampling was used and 16 semi-structured interviews conducted. Strategies and processes taught during training for the role constituted an important support mechanism. The lack of formal processes to support participants’ well-being was reported although effective peer support network amongst negotiators existed. Mental health awareness and suicide intervention training should be considered key for police officers, who are first responders. Robust procedures are needed to support the emotional well-being of police negotiators.     

美国警察证人豁免权制度评介

美国证人豁免权制度由来已久。由于警察证人属于证人的一种,美国通过判例的形式在证人豁免权制度的基础上确立了警察证人豁免权制度,作为证人豁免权制度的重要组成部分。我国于2012年修正的刑事诉讼法增设了警察出庭作证制度与有限的证人作证豁免权制度,但均未涉及警察证人豁免权问题。尽管目前我国在警察作证方面的主要关注点仍然集中于如何保证这一制度的贯彻和实施,但随着理论和实践的进一步发展,警察证人的豁免权问题会逐步凸显出来。美国在警察证人豁免权制度方面的有关做法,如豁免的权限与范围,豁免的方式与程序等会给我国警察证人出庭作证制度与证人豁免权制度的完善带来一些有益的启示。