Oral Presentation: Police officers’ perceptions and experiences of promoting honesty in child witnesses

Title: Police officers’ perceptions and experiences of promoting honesty in child witnesses

Abstract:

When interviewing vulnerable witnesses, such as children, investigative interviewers in England and Wales are advised to follow the Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) in Criminal Proceedings guidelines (MoJ, 2022). These guidelines recommend that practitioners engage in a truth-lies discussion with child witnesses at the end of the rapport phase of an interview. Such discussions aim to make children aware of the importance of telling the truth, thus encouraging them to provide an honest and truthful statement. However, there is no standardised procedure involving the employment of truth-lies discussions in practice and to date, little is known about whether, and how, these discussions are employed in the field. This study will explore police officers’ perceptions and experiences of promoting honesty in child witnesses through interviewing strategies such as truth-lies discussions. Police officers, trained in ABE guidelines and who regularly interview child witnesses, will be invited to complete an online survey. Multiple choice and open-ended questions will explore (i) practitioners’ experiences of promoting honesty during interviews with children, (ii) potential obstacles encountered, and (iii) recommendations for alternative honesty-promoting strategies. The results will be discussed in terms of ideas for future research to inform evidence-based policing to facilitate honest and accurate accounts from child witnesses.