Interviewing Children

1. Interviewing Children Chapter 7

2. The Child Interview • Criminal investigators must determine what happened • Need disclosure from the child • Reliability will be an issue • Social Service investigators determine if something happened which requires child protection

3. Limitations on Reporting by Age • Infancy: the first 2 years • Rely on medical documentation • Early Childhood: Ages 2 to 6 • Short attention span • Time and space are difficult concepts • Only in rare instances should the child be interviewed more than ½ hour • Middle Childhood: Ages 7 to 12 • Language is well developed • Play remains primary expression • Emotion language possible • Can distinguish fiction vs. reality

4. Field Assessment: a first responder situation • Explain the reason for the visit to the caretaker • The child may need to be visually examined for bruises an marks • Secure emergency medical attention if needed • Interview the child outside of the presence of the caretaker

5. Assessing the present and future risk of harm to a child is a legal requirement in all states The standard of proof for reporting suspected abuse or neglect is mere suspicion Is there any reason to believe that the child has been abused, neglected, or witnessed abuse towards a parent or sibling? Has the child received a suspicious injury? Are there weapons or ammunition that is accessible to this child? Does the primary caretaker abuse alcohol or drugs? Is the child depressed or suffering from lack of medical attention? Step I: Risk Assessment

6. Choice of evaluation model is based on the goals of the interview Child Interview Model Parent-Child Interaction Model Multidisciplinary Team Approach Child interview is central for abuse determination Premise: children rarely make false allegations Determination is based on expected behaviors between offending and non-offending parent and their offspring Should not be used for criminal complaint Input from child professionals for abuse determination Criminal investigator must have active participation Step 2:Models for Evaluating Abuse

7. Determine the Reason for questioning Determine the Purpose of the questioning Identify the Population Identify the Interviewer The interview reason determines its length The purpose of the interview determines the model to be used The interview population determines the limitations of the interviewee The choice of interviewer depends on the population Step 3: Preliminary Considerations Checklist

8. What, if any, crime occurred? Who is the perpetrator? Where did it occur? When did it occur? Against who did it occur? How was it perpetrated? Have crime elements been satisfied? Has an offender been identified? Has the location been specified? Has the time frame been determined? Has the victim been identified? Have the specifics been articulated? Step 4: Remain Neutral

9. Forensic Child Interviewing Phase I: Caretaker Instructions • Prior to meeting with the child instructions should be provided to the caretaker

10. Forensic Child Interviewing Phase II: Evaluation • Using the preliminary considerations checklist, conduct an evaluation of the upcoming interview

11. Forensic Child InterviewingPhase III: Prepare the Child • Use the Comprehensive Monitoring (CM) Preparation Model

12. Comprehensive Monitoring (CM) Preparation Model • Prior to the interview this is a practice session with the child interviewee conducted by a non-interviewing person • Practice identifying instances of non-comprehension • Practice responding with verbalizations that indicate lack of understanding • Increase the interviewee awareness of the negative consequences of responding to questions not fully understood

13. Forensic Child InterviewingPhase IV: Establish Rapport • Establish rapport through age appropriate language

14. Forensic Child InterviewingPhase V: Conduct the Interview • Establish that the child knows the difference between the truth and a lie • Don’t use ‘cop talk’ • Avoid the use of leading questions

15. Basics of the Child Cognitive Interview 3 phase procedure • Adapted from the adult version • Step 1 focuses on developing rapport • Step 2 involves techniques designed to elicit from the child as complete a narrative account of the crime as possible. • Step 3 involves the use of additional memory-jogging techniques

16. Step 1 Rapport & Prepare • Develop rapport with the child in accordance with recommended guidelines • Prepare child for the interviewer's questions through a set of four instructions

17. Rapport Development • Do not ask child’s name – “You must be Mary. My name is Bob.” • Ask simple questions about the child’s world and provide information about yourself. • Do not ask questions that could be regarded as coercive – “do you want to be my friend?” • Empathize with a nervous child’s feelings. • Use positive, open-ended questions likely to promote conversation – “What are your favorite tv shows?”

18. Prepare the Child with Four Instructions Give the child permission: • Not to know all of the answers! • There may be some questions that you don’t know the answers to, that’s ok. • Not to answer if they don’t want to! • You don’t have to answer, just tell me • Ask what you mean if they don’t understand! • If you do not know what I mean, ask me to say it in new words • Answer the same for repeat questions! • I may forget that I already asked you a question, you don’t have to change your answer.

19. Step 2 Narrative Report • This step is the most important! In the most recent version of cognitive interviewing these are the only two mnemonics used • Reconstruct the circumstances mnemonic • Be complete, report everything mnemonic

20. Interviewer Guidelines for Reconstruct the Circumstances mnemonic • Reconstruct circumstances. To keep the child grounded in reality and minimize fantasy the interviewer must avoid such terms as ‘pretend’ or ‘imagine.’ Instead, instruct the child to “picture that time when … as if you were there right now. Think about what it was like there. Tell me out loud. Were there any smells there? Was it dark or light? Picture any other people who were there. What things were there? How were you feeling when you were there? Who else was there?

21. Interviewer Guidelines for Report Everything mnemonic • Be complete/report everything. Instruct the child to start at the beginning and tell everything that happened, from the beginning to the middle, to the end. Tell everything you remember, even little parts that you don’t think are very important. Sometimes people eave out little things because they think little things are not important. Tell me everything that happened.

22. Step 3Changing the Order and Perspective Mnemonic • Use memory-jogging techniques to obtain new information • Change the order mnemonic • Change the perspective mnemonic