Oral Presentation: The Influence of Culture on Witness Accounts: An Interdisciplinary Scoping Review

Title: The Influence of Culture on Witness Accounts: An Interdisciplinary Scoping Review

Abstract:

In an ever more globalized world, it is becoming more common for witnesses and those gathering evidence to be from different countries. Investigative interviewers and legal practitioners frequently report problems when questioning witnesses with different cultural backgrounds. We conducted a scoping review, providing the first synthesis of research on the ways in which culture influences the giving, receiving, and evaluating of witness accounts from investigations to trial. Comprehensive searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science Core Collection, APA PsycInfo, Criminal Justice Abstracts, and IBSS for relevant journal articles and book chapters. A total of 205 articles were selected for full-text screening. Several thematic areas were identified: (1) The universality of law over culture; (2) Culture shaping memory recall; (3) Language as culture in the courtroom; (4) The use of interpreters; and (5) The mixing of legal cultures. Surprisingly, almost none of the articles defined “culture”, leaving the reader to make their own assumptions about what was meant by the term. Preliminary results indicate that cultural mishaps in legal proceedings are plentiful and are not dealt with in a uniform manner. We would welcome a discussion with practitioners to hear their views on the influence of culture on witness accounts.