Title: Interpreters’ Experiences and Knowledge of Child Forensic Interviews Abstract: Child forensic interviewers have expressed concerns regarding the quality of interpreter-mediated child forensic interviews, including limited access to qualified interpreters and a high risk of suggestive influence stemming from misinterpretations. However, research on interpreter-mediated child forensic interviews is limited, and the perspective of interpreters has […]

Title: The Complex Trial Protocol, an innovative way to get to the truth Abstract: The P300 is a well-studied electrical brainwave which appears as a positive (P) deflection on an electroencephalogram (EEG) and occurs about 300 to 600 ms (300) after a person is presented with a meaningful and novel stimulus. It is detectable by […]

Title: Transfer of Avatar Training Effects to Investigative Field Interviews of Children Conducted by Police Officers Abstract: Previous research with students and some professional groups (psychologists) have repeatedly demonstrated that repeated feedback in simulated investigative interviews with computerized child avatars improves the quality of the interviews conducted with real children who have witnessed a mock […]

Title: Applying the Asymmetric Information Management (AIM) technique to insurance claims  Abstract: This study investigated the Asymmetric Information Management (AIM) technique’s ability to detect fraudulent insurance claims submitted online. The AIM instructions inform claimants that, inter alia, more detailed statements are easier to accurately classify as either genuine or fabricated. To test this, truth tellers […]

Title: Investigative Interview Training using a Multimodal Child Avatar Abstract: Effective child investigative interview training is needed to bridge the gap between best-practice-guidelines and practice in field. We aim to develop an empirically informed training system using dynamic multimodal child-avatars based on game engine and artificial intelligence (AI) methods including dialogue models trained on well-designed […]

Title: Interviewing via the Model Statement: Examining the factors underpinning its effectiveness Abstract: Background The Model Statement (MS) is an audio-recorded detailed statement, on an unrelated topic to that of the interview, of the level-of-detail expected from interviewees. Research has shown the MS elicits more detailed information from interviewees compared to a ‘report everything’ instruction. […]

Title: “ViContact” - an Interactive Seminar and Virtual Reality Training for Talking to Children about suspected Sexual Abuse Abstract: We introduce “ViContact” - a newly developed multi-method programme to train teachers how to talk to children about suspicions of sexual abuse. ViContact consists of a two-day seminar as well as exercises in a three-dimensional virtual […]

Title: Sketching Routes to Elicit Information and Cues to Deceit  Abstract: Investigative practitioners are increasingly using sketching whilst narrating in investigative and intelligence-gathering interviews. The technique involves suspects describing the target event while sketching on a blank paper (self-generated sketch with narration) or on a printed map of the target location (printed map with narration). […]

Title: The ViContact VR Training: Virtual Children and their Response Algorithm Abstract: In this presentation, the ViContact VR training will be introduced in more detail. The ViContact VR training is a virtual training environment in which participants can practice in an action-oriented way how to talk to children in suspected cases of child sexual abuse […]

Title: Examining a new interview technique to gather information and elicit cues to deceit: The Ghostwriter Method Abstract: Background. This is the second experiment ever conducted to examine a new lie detection tool: the Ghostwriter (GW) Method. We examined its effect on eliciting information, cues to deceit and the technique’s working mechanisms. Method. 150 participants […]

Title: How to talk to children when suspecting sexual abuse – Current practice in Schools in the North of Germany and recommendations for best practice guidelines Abstract: Teachers and other school professionals (e.g. school social workers, school psychologists) are among the first contact persons for children to disclose experiences of sexual abuse. Equally, if teachers […]