Oral Presentation: False memories… but real investigation

Title: False memories… but real investigation

Abstract:

False allegations of sexual assault represent between 2 and 10% of sexual crimes reported to the police (see St-Yves & Beauregard, 2015). These actions – which constitute real crimes – often entail significant costs in police resources and may harm the real victims. Often psychological, the motivations are varied and the interventions are always tricky, especially when the evidence is only based on doubts. This is often the case with false memories of sexual assault (see Loftus & Ketcham, 1991; Ost, 2014). Although the study of the phenomenon sometimes makes it possible to detect these false crimes (see Hunt & Bull, 2012; St-Yves & Beauregard, 2015), there is no protocol for intervening with these “false” victims. The purpose of this presentation is to briefly expose the phenomenon of false memories syndrome of sexual assault, but above all to explore ways of intervening in such situations.

References:

Hunt, L. & Bull, R. (2012). Differentiating Genuine and False Rape Allegations: A Model to Aid RapeInvestigations. Serious Crime Analysis Section, National Policing Improvement Agency.

Loftus, E. & Ketcham, K. (1991) Witness for the Defense. New York: St. Martin Press, xiv, pp 288.

St-Yves, M. & Beauregard, É. (2015). Les fausses allégations d’agression sexuelle : Vers un modèle statistique de prédiction. Revue internationale de criminologie et de police technique et scientifique, Vol. LXVIII, No. 1, 23-40.

Ost, J. (2014). False Memory. In M. St-Yves (Ed), Investigative Interviewing: The Essentials. Carswell (Toronto), Canada, pp. 125-143.