Child deaths in Virginia, 1996: a review of investigations of sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths of children less than age 13

This study examines the consistency of investigative procedures used by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, law enforcement, and child protective services, when investigating the violent, sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths of children. The study also assessed the status of communication and cooperation among the investigating agencies, to determine whether improvements in the level of cooperation and communication among the systems recommended by prior legislative studies had been achieved. The subjects of this study were children from birth through age 12 who died a sudden, unexpected, or unnatural death in Virginia in 1996. The findings from this research provide both justification to celebrate the progress that has been made and the stimulus to improve the investigation into the sudden, unexpected, or unnatural deaths of children in Virginia. Data suggested that the level of cooperation and communication among child protective services workers, medical examiners, and law enforcement personnel in Virginia had increased between 1986 and 1996. The results demonstrated that some investigative procedures were consistent, especially within regional boundaries. However, the results also showed that inconsistencies exist in the way some deaths are investigated, and that room for improvement exists.     

THE PROCESS OF LEGALIZING SPECIAL INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES IN CHINA

Compared with conventional investigation methods, special investigative techniques are specific investigation measures that are conducted without informing the parties being investigated. Although these measures are effective means for fighting crimes, they can also easily violate human rights. Before the modification of the Criminal Procedure Law of China in 2012, only the State Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, the People’s Police Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the departmental rules enacted by the Ministry of Public Security contained provisions on special investigative techniques. However, in practice, special investigative techniques have been widely employed to investigate hidden crimes or major complex crimes, such as crimes endangering state security, organized crimes, and drug-related crimes. To standardize the use of special investigative techniques, the Criminal Procedure Law of China has included a new paragraph about special investigative techniques, including technical investigation measures, hidden identity investigation, and controlled delivery. And the Procedure Rules for Public Security Organs Handling Criminal Cases (2012) and the Tentative Rules for Criminal Procedure of People’s Procuratorate (2012) provide some supplemental provisions. Although the importance of special investigative techniques stipulated in the Criminal Procedure Law should be affirmed and approved, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Law and the relevant interpretations are too simple and too principled, which will likely lead to the improper application or abuse of special investigative techniques. Rules regarding which types of cases and under which conditions special investigative techniques are appropriate, the necessary approval procedures, and the legal consequences and relief mechanisms for illegal special investigative techniques should be clarified or added to promote the legalization of special investigative techniques — by striking a balance between power authorization and power control as well as between the values of crime control and human rights protection.     

Enhancing Witness Memory with Focused Meditation and Eye-Closure: Assessing the Effects of Misinformation

Despite the decline in popularity of hypnosis as an investigative interviewing technique, this paper builds on previous research showing that some of the techniques employed in traditional hypnotic interviewing may still be useful in the development of simple, brief memory facilitation procedures for use by the police. Three experiments are described that investigate the effects of a short Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique in situations where participants are presented with misleading information. In the first study, which utilized a standard misinformation paradigm, a significant memory facilitation effect was shown with Focused Meditation, though the effect was not significant for eye-closure alone. There were no increases in errors when the Meditation and eye-closure procedures were used alone or in combination. The second experiment showed that a combined Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique reduced misinformation effects associated with fictitious events, and a third showed that the same technique reduced interrogative suggestibility effects as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale, whilst facilitating free recall memory. It is concluded that a Focused Meditation with eye-closure technique may potentially have applications in the field where brief alternatives to the Cognitive Interview are required.     

To Behave Like a Liar: Nonverbal Cues to Deception in an Asian Sample

The detection of deception is an essential yet challenging component of investigative interviewing. Behavioural cues to deception in particular, have long been used in investigative interviewing contexts to determine decisions of suspect veracity and deceit. Nevertheless, deception research amongst non-American or European populations has yet to fully explore the effectiveness of such non-verbal observations. This study may be the first to examine truth-lie behaviours involving South-East Asian participants. In this study conducted in Singapore, 68 participants completed either a mock criminal task or a non-criminal task, before encountering an investigative interviewing scenario in which they had to lie or tell the truth to the interviewer. The results showed that liars displayed significantly more head movements and less hand/finger movements, as well as reported more feelings of guilt, than truth-tellers. Implications for investigator training and criminal investigative procedures are discussed.     

Child abduction: aged-based analyses of offender, victim, and offense characteristics in 550 cases of alleged child disappearance.

Crimes against children, particularly cases involving abduction and/or homicide, continue to be problematic as both a social phenomenon and judicial responsibility. Such cases routinely receive immense community and media attention and rapidly overwhelm investigative resources. Research in the area of childhood victimization, however, has only recently gained national prominence. While numerous studies on child abuse and neglect have been conducted, research on child abduction and homicide remains scant. Previous studies examining child abduction suffer from limited geographical scope or fail to base predictive analyses on victim characteristics. The current study reports the results of a nationally representative sample (47 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) of 550 cases of alleged child abduction obtained from Federal Bureau of Investigation files for the period 1985 through 1995. Study results demonstrate that both offender and offense characteristics vary significantly according to victim age, gender, and race. Such differences appear critical to crime reconstruction, criminal profiling, and investigative resolution. Additionally, these data suggest that current child abduction prevention programs may emphasize inaccurate offender traits.     

Children's recall of emotionally arousing, repeated events: a review and call for further investigation

The influence, if any, of emotional arousal on memory is a controversial topic in the literature. Much of the research on memory for emotionally arousing events has focused on a few specific issues (e.g., differences in types of details recalled in emotionally arousing and neutral events; increasing ecological validity). Although gaining more recent attention, a neglected area in the literature has been memory for instances of repeated, emotionally arousing events. This issue has important implications for understanding children's ability to recall events in a forensic setting. We review existing findings on memory for emotionally arousing events in general and particularly in children, children's memory for events that occur repeatedly, and then discuss the scarce research on repeated emotionally arousing events and the need for further research in this area. We conclude that although it is clear that children are capable of accurately reporting arousing and repeated experiences, it is also apparent that circumstances both within and outside the control of investigative interviewers influence this ability.     

Practitioner perspectives on rapport building during child investigative interviews

The inclusion of a rapport phase with children in investigative interviews is considered best practice as research shows that this can improve the quality of information provided. However, the phenomenon of ‘psychological rapport’, as demonstrated in a person's behaviour, is less understood. Specifically, how do practitioners build rapport with children in the rapport phase? The aim of this paper is to provide information on the methods used by practitioners for building rapport with children, with an explanation of how they may influence communication. Nineteen Scottish practitioners (police officers and social workers) were interviewed about their experiences and approach to rapport building with children in investigative interviews. These interviews were qualitatively analysed using a grounded theory approach and produced a model for the relationship between psychological rapport and children's communication. According to this group of practitioners, rapport building acts as a ‘communication tool’ and is approached using three main strategies. These strategies involve using rapport to assess the child, adjust interview approach based on the assessment, and produce a change in the child's psychological state that facilitates communication. These findings have established practitioner understanding of rapport building and highlighted a number of areas that require further research.     

论职务犯罪侦查的专业化

实现职务犯罪侦查的专业化是提高职务犯罪侦查能力和效率的需要。职务犯罪侦查的专业化包括职务犯罪侦查职能的专业化、职务犯罪侦查人员的专业化和职务犯罪侦查方法的专业化。职务犯罪侦查职能的专业化有三种模式,即警察职能模式、独立职能模式和检察职能模式,后者最符合当前中国社会的状况。与职务犯罪侦查人员专业化有关的三对范畴是:专门化侦查与一般化侦查;集中型侦查与分散型侦查;一步式侦查与两步式侦查。职务犯罪侦查组织的一体化与职务犯罪侦查人员的专业化之间有着密切的关系。职务犯罪侦查方法的专业化表现在三个方面:人证调查方法的科学化、物证调查方法的常规化、秘密侦查方法的规范化。     

论侦查策略的发展渊源

侦查策略作为打击犯罪领域内的谋略文化,由于其涉及的知识领域非常广泛,因此,侦查策略的渊源是丰富而多彩的。侦查策略的历史之源:人类抗争谋略的发展成果,构成了侦查策略产生发展的基石;侦查策略自身的发展构成其发展的主线。侦查策略的实践之源:人们对侦查策略的认识产生于侦查实践的需要;其它社会实践对侦查策略的助益;侦查实践是检验侦查策略的唯一标准。侦查策略的科技之源,即对新科学、新技术发展成果的借鉴和应用,是侦查策略的重要来源。     

The effects of beliefs and information about hypnosis on the legal defence of automatism through hypnosis

Abstract

The aims of this study were to assess the impact of public conceptions about the nature and coercive powers of hypnosis, and information regarding different approaches to hypnosis, on the plea of automatism through hypnosis in a criminal trial. Subjects were assigned to three groups. Two were presented with criminal cases in which automatism through hypnosis was implicated, as well as duress; one of these groups received information about different approaches to hypnosis. The third received the same cases, but with duress alone. Results showed that, when automatism through hypnosis was implicated as well as duress, the defendant offering the plea was judged less responsible, however, he was not judged less guilty than when duress alone was the defence. Also, subjects presented with the plea of automatism tended to be more sceptical about the idea than those not presented with this plea. The provision of information on different approaches to hypnosis was largely ineffective in altering beliefs and judgments. Judgments of guilt and responsibility were, however, strongly influenced by beliefs about automatism through hypnosis.     

突破与局限：特殊侦查措施所获证据材料适用研究-以《关于办理死刑案件审查判断证据若干问题的规定》第35条为中心

如何理解特殊侦查措施，学界存在多种不同的观点。将特殊侦查措施视为秘密侦查的等同物，是符合《办理死刑案件证据规定》第35条立法精神与宗旨的理解。特殊侦查措施所获证据材料长期以来在我国不具备证据能力．必须经“转化”以后才能使用，由此导致诸多执法困境。《办理死刑案件证据规定》第35条虽然力图突破这一长期困扰审判实务的难题．但...     

Urgent issues and prospects at the intersection of culture,memory, and witness interviews: Exploring the challenges for research and practice

The pursuit of justice increasingly relies on productive interactions between witnesses and investigators from diverse cultural backgrounds during investigative interviews. To date, the role of cultural context has largely been ignored by researchers in the field of investigative interviewing, despite repeated requests from practitioners and policymakers for evidence-based guidance for the conduct of interviews with people from different cultures. Through examining cultural differences in human memory and communication and considering specific contextual challenges for investigative interviewing through the lens of culture, this review and associated commentaries highlight the scope for considering culture and human diversity in research on, and the practice of, investigative interviewing with victims, witnesses, and other sources. Across 11 commentaries, contributors highlight the importance of considering the role of culture in different investigative interviewing practices (e.g., rapport building, questioning techniques) and contexts (e.g., gender-based violence, asylum seeking, child abuse), address common areas of cultural mismatch between interviewer–interviewee expectations, and identify critical future routes for research. We call for an increased focus in the investigative interviewing literature on the nature and needs of our global community and encourage constructive and collaborative discussion between researchers and practitioners from around the world to better identify specific challenges and work together towards evidence-based solutions.     

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

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

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

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

What Makes Recovered-Memory Testimony Compelling to Jurors?

Little is known about how jurors arrive at verdicts in cases involving recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Study 1 investigated mock jurors' reactions to the recovered-memory testimony of an alleged victim when a therapist intervened with hypnosis, suggestion, or symptom management. When a therapist used hypnosis, jurors viewed the victim's recovered-memory testimony as particularly accurate and credible, and favored the victim in their verdicts. In Study 2, mock jurors were presented with a therapist who was sued for allegedly influencing a client's recall of false memories of abuse. In this case, however, jurors viewed therapists who used hypnosis or suggestion as more likely to have created false memories, more responsible for having caused harm, and less competent, and tended not to favor these therapists in their verdicts. We discuss these seemingly contradictory findings in terms of how culturally formed expectancies about hypnosis produce different causal explanations depending on the focus of a trial.     

Human trafficking and criminal investigation strategies in the Amsterdam Red Light District

The subject of human trafficking has recently received a lot of attention from society and the world of politics. The criminal-law approach to human trafficking has also been placed high on the agenda of law enforcers. Human trafficking is, however, a complex crime with several specific characteristics. For example, there is often a complex relationship between victims and perpetrators of human trafficking and victims are often too afraid to file a report. How do the police and the judicial authorities work in the investigation of human trafficking in view of the specific characteristics of human trafficking? What choices are made in practice and what different police investigative strategies can be distinguished? What opportunities and risks are inherent in the choices made? In this article we answer these questions on the basis of four large scale police investigations into human trafficking that we studied closely. The four criminal cases all focused on violent groups of human traffickers that operated in the Amsterdam window prostitution. All criminal cases have since been concluded (in first instance). It turned out that in each of the four investigations the relevant police team applied a different investigative strategy: one investigation focused primarily on the victim statements, one investigation focused on public nuisance, one investigation focused on the evidence against the criminal organisation and one investigation focused on the offences (evidence concerning the exploitation of prostitutes). In this article we compare the four strategies applied and consider the consequences of each strategy for the course of the investigation and the criminal prosecution and what dilemma’s are faced in each strategy. Although the various investigations cannot be easily compared and a uniform ‘best’ strategy cannot be designated, the comparison does show that some choices or decisions entail great opportunities or great risks as regards the successful investigation and prosecution of human trafficking. It concerns, for example, the choice of involving local investigative services (district police) or the choice for short-term or, as the case may be, longer-running investigations.     

In Search of Indicators of Detective Aptitude: Police Recruits’ Logical Reasoning and Ability to Generate Investigative Hypotheses

Previous psychological research on criminal investigation has not systematically addressed the role of deductive and inductive reasoning skills in decision-making in detectives. This study examined the relationship between these skills derived from a cognitive ability test used for police recruitment and test scores from an investigative reasoning skills task (Fahsing and Ask 2016). Newly recruited students at the Norwegian Police University College (N = 166) were presented with two semi-fictitious missing-person cases and were asked to report all relevant hypotheses and necessary investigative actions in each case. The quality of participants’ responses was gauged by comparison with a gold standard established by a panel of senior police experts. The scores from the deductive and inductive reasoning test were not related to participants’ performance on the investigative reasoning task. However, the presence or absence of an investigative “tipping-point” (i.e. arrest decision) in the two cases was systematically associated with participants’ ability to generate investigative hypotheses. Methodological limitations and implications for police recruitment and criminal investigative practice are discussed.     

Beliefs about child witnesses: A survey of professionals

This research addressed how professionals involved with the legal system evaluate children, primarily between 4 and 8 years old, as witnesses. In particular, we focused on professionals’ beliefs and opinions regarding children's memory, suggestibility, and behaviors as they relate to witness credibility. In addition, we surveyed professionals’ evaluations of investigative methods related to reliability. Four hundred and seventy-eight professionals working with children in the Norwegian legal system (i.e. judges, police detectives, psychologists, child psychiatrists, prosecutors, and defense attorneys) completed a questionnaire about child witness issues. Results indicated that psychiatrists as well as police officers expressed greater belief in children's capacities than did other groups, whereas defense attorneys and psychologists were more skeptical regarding children's general credibility. Psychiatrists and psychologists both, however, tended to favor, more than did legal professionals, the use of clinical techniques with children in abuse investigations. Implications are discussed in relation to professionals’ attitudes toward children as witnesses.     

LET'S GO TO THE VIDEOTAPE: WHY THE FORENSIC INTERVIEWS OF CHILDREN IN CHILD PROTECTIVE CASES SHOULD BE VIDEO RECORDED*

Child sexual abuse is often difficult to prove due to a lack of physical evidence. In many instances, the only evidence is a child's statement given during a forensic interview. Forensic interviews are conducted to assess whether the child has been abused, to develop a plan to protect a child's safety pending trial, and to provide further investigative leads. Note taking by the interviewer is currently the primary method for documenting what takes place in a forensic interview. Research shows that this form of documentation is problematic because interviewers tend to omit abuse‐related details in their notes. This Note suggests that federal law should require that forensic interviews of children in child sexual abuse cases be video recorded. State law can provide for a policy of video recording even in the absence of a federal law mandate. Video recording would better preserve the child's statements thereby improving the reliability of the information that is obtained during forensic interviews. The child's demeanor would also be fully captured on video as opposed to getting lost in an interviewer's notes.