FEBRUARY 2025
Quintan Crough and Joseph Eastwood
Background: For the information elicited within an investigative interview to be admissible in court in many Western countries, the methods used to obtain it must not violate fundamental principles of justice or fairness (i.e., “shock the conscience of the community”). Despite the frequent application of this principle in judicial systems globally, little research exists in which public perceptions of interviewing tactics have been examined. The current research therefore sought to fill this gap in the literature by examining how the public perceives various tactic types (rapport-based, overt, psychological) and if this may differ depending on the type of interview (i.e., investigative vs. intelligence-gathering). Across two studies, participants (N = 122, N = 133) read transcripts in which a crime had occurred in the past or was believed to occur in the future (the same day or in a week), then provided ratings regarding the effectiveness and appropriateness of various tactics characteristic of three different approaches (overt, psychological or rapport-based). Across perceptions of effectiveness and appropriateness, findings indicated a clear preference for rapport-based tactics. Implications for the “shock the conscience” principle and suspect interviewing more broadly are discussed.
Key Words: Investigative interview, shock the conscience, intelligence gathering, rapport, public perceptions
Lennart Bayer, Maike Cigelski, Justine Eilfgang, Frieda Mensing, Harriet Sewald, Isabelle von Seeler, Simone Pülschen
Background: In child abuse cases, the testimony of child victim witnesses often stands as the sole evidence. Some responsibility for ensuring the quality of this testimony falls on those who conduct preliminary conversations prior to criminal proceedings. Such conversations must be conducted professionally.
Objective: As one of the largest group of professionals reporting child abuse, teachers often start the initial conversations with children in cases of child sexual abuse (CSA).
Participants and setting: This interview study examined teachers’ attitudes and knowledge about communicating with children in cases of suspected CSA, and sought advice from child protection and law enforcement professionals for teachers and school professionals.
Methods: Semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with 45 professionals from Germany. The interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis.
Results: The findings of this study align with previous international research, underscoring the need for more comprehensive teacher education. A need for more education on talking to children for school professionals became evident. Furthermore, school was viewed as an ideal place for intervention and support for children in CSA cases.
Conclusion: Developing a training and education program on how to handle cases of suspected CSA to support children in schools is deemed highly important.
Key Words: teacher training; child sexual abuse; interview study; multi-professional; school
The International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG) is pleased to announce a special edition of the journal Investigative Interviewing: Research & Practice dedicated to promoting research findings in different languages. In this first special issue, we will be publishing articles in English, as well as executive summaries in Spanish.
As a worldwide network of interviewing professionals, the iIIRG is committed to supporting evidence-based ethical interviewing practices. By embracing multilingualism, we can truly reflect the international nature of our organization and ensure research findings are disseminated to broader audiences across the world.
We invite researchers, academics, and practitioners from various disciplines to submit their original research papers, case studies, and theoretical articles related to investigative interviewing.
Instructions
Papers should be submitted in English with standard 200-word abstracts. Submissions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process to ensure high-quality published articles. Upon acceptance, we will request an extended and structured abstract (background, methods, results, discussion, practical implications) of up to 800 words in English.
Authors will have the option of translating the extended abstracts into Spanish themselves, or having the extended abstracts professionally translated through iIIRG. All translations will be quality checked by accredited translators.
Accepted papers will be featured in the special multilingual edition of Investigative Interviewing: Research & Practice, providing a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in the field.
Important Dates:
Opening date for manuscripts submissions: 1st October 2024
Closing date for manuscripts submission: 31st May 2025
Submission guidelines and further information can be found here, or contact the journal’s editorial team at journal.editor@iiirg.org
Join us in advancing the field of investigative interviewing through the promotion of research findings in different languages. We look forward to receiving your contributions and fostering meaningful dialogue within the international community of investigative interviewing professionals.