1. Forensic Interviewing
Ragna Guðbrandsdóttir
Master in Social work
Children´s Advocacy Center in Iceland

2. Objectives
The difference between forensic interviewing and therapeutic interviewing
Identify the elements of a good interview
Identify problematic interview components
Explain the importance of rapport-building
Describe useful ground rules for interviewing

3. Forensic vs.therapeutic interviewing
The goal is discovering the truth, the facts
Objective standpoint
Alternative explanations are explored
Obtaining corroborating details is imperative
Establishing the child´s competency is a concern
The way information is acquired is strictly governed
Expression of emotions in a nurturing environment
Advocate who assumes the child is telling the truth
Subjective interpretations accepted
Nonspecific accounts of abuse are sufficient
The credibility of the child is not questioned
How information is obtained is not of concern

4. Suggestions for successful interview with a young child
Fundamental knowledge of child´s developmental level
Use developmentally appropriate language
Keep questions simple. Don´t ask more than one question at a time
Be sure the child understands the question being asked
Calm and supportive presentation
Objective stance

5. The child
The time of the interview should be aimed at the child´s needs
Parents need guidance in how to prepare their children for the interview
The location of the interview is important for the child
The child has to know who is watching the interview and who has access to the information given

6. Cont. The parents role during the interview
The alleged offender´s role
Don´t interview a child who has a limited vocabulary; cannot be understood; or is unable to understand basic concepts

7. Forensic interviewing
Establish rapport with the child in the beginning of the interview process
Introduce “ground rules” of the interview
Assessing a child´s developmental level
The main task “Why are you here today”
Closing the interview

8. Rapport building Means the CHILD does most of the talking
Serves as an “ice-breaker”
Serves as a “practice interview”
Takes some time; is not hurried
Leads to the child providing more information during the substantive part of the interview

9. Techniques for building rapport
Tell the child your name and what you do
Make sure that the child feels comfortable in the beginning of the interview with easy to answer questions
Tell me a little bit about yourself and about your family
Name
Home
School
Favorite topics

10. Techniques for building rapport
Invite the child to describe a recent event;
Birthday
Holiday
Bedtime
Dinner time

11. Rapport building cont. Use open-ended questions:
Who
What
When
Where
Include open-ended follow-ups that invite the child to keep talking:
“Tell me more about that”
“I´m really interested. I´d like to hear more.”
“Mm Hmm…”
“Ohhh…”

12. Ground rules
Tell your name and that your job is to talk to children about things that have happened to them
I talk to a lot of children here at the children´s house
Today my job is to get to know you a little better and find out about your live
Tell the child that the interview is been videotaped so you can remember everything
Tell the child who is watching and why
Let the child know how the interview is structured and the rules

13. I don't know
I might ask some questions that you don´t know the answers to. That´s OK. I don´t expect you to know the answers to all of my questions
Say, “I don´t know” if you don´t know the answer. If you do know the answer, then I want you to tell me the answer. That´s the only way I can help you today. But if you don´t know, just say “I don´t know.”

14. I don't know cont.
Let´s practice that. If I say, “what is my dog´s name?” You should say...(Wait for answer).
That´s right. If you don´t know the answer, just say, “I don´t know.”

15. I don´t understand
If I ask a question that you don’t understand—a question that sounds kind of “weird” to you, just say “Stop: I don´t understand.” Then I’ll try to ask the question a different way. I only want you to answer question if you understand it
Let’s practice that. If I say, “How many wogs are in a wug?” you should say....
That’s right. If you don’t understand the question, say, “Stop. I don’t understand that question.”

16. Repeated questions
Sometimes I´ll ask you the same question more than once. That doesn't mean that you gave me the wrong answer. It just means that my memory isn’t very good sometimes, so I forget things.
If I ask you the same question again, just tell me the truth. Tell me what really happened, even if you already told me. Will you do that?

17. Correct mistakes
Sometimes I make mistakes. If I say things that are wrong, I want you to correct me.
Practice like with calling the child the wrong name and have them correct you

18. Tell the truth
I want you to tell me only what really happened, even if you said something different to somebody else at some other time. Today I want you to tell me only what REALLY happened
Don´t tell me anything “pretend”
Don´t guess about things
Don´t tell me what someone else told you to say happened
It is very important to tell the truth in this room today

19. The Truth/Lies “Ceremony”
I want to be sure you understand the difference between the truth and lie
Can you explain the difference to me in your own words
Lets take an example, if I say I am a man, is that the truth or a lie? (Wait for answer)
If I say I am a woman, is that a lie or the truth? (Wait for answer)

20. The Truth/Lies “Ceremony”
I see that you understand the difference between telling the truth and telling a lie, and that´s very important
While we talk today, I want you to tell me only the truth, only things that really happened to you. Will you do that?

21. Assessing a child´s developmental level
Where is the child developmentally according to age
Assessing general skills;
Ability to count
Ability to identify colors
Ability to name body parts
Understanding of basic concepts
In/out
Up/down
Over/under
Inside/outside

22. Developmental level cont.
Childs understanding of concepts related to the abuse
Bigger/smaller
Dry/wet
Soft/hard

23. Why are you here today? Substantive Free Narrative
Let the child know that you are changing the subject to avoid confusion
Now that we know each other a little better, I want you to tell me the reason that you are here today

24. Free Narrative cont.
Tell me the reason you came to talk to me today. If a child makes an allegation, repeat the allegation and ask for more detail
I want you to tell me everything that happened in your own words
I will ask you some question to help you tell me
I want to hear about all the details that you can remember from the beginning to the end

25. Free Narrative cont.
If the first request is not successful, try the following
I understand that something has been bothering you. It´s important that you tell me about what has been bothering you
This is a place that children can tell if something is bothering them
Never force a child to talk

26. Types of Questions Open-ended Closed Leading Misleading Forced-choice
Multiple

27. Open-ended Questions
Open-ended questions are the best kind of questions from the point of view of evidence and information-gathering
Minimizes the risk that the interviewer will impose his/her view of what happened on the interviewee
Open-ended questions elicit responses similar to those obtained by free recall which has been found to be the most accurate form of remembering
I know that you just moved. Tell me about that?

28. Closed Questions
Allows only a relatively narrow range of responses, and the response usually consist of one word or a short phrase
Closed questions are the second best type of questions and are good to follow up on open ended responses or free recall
What color was his hair?

29. Forced-choice question
This type of question leaves interviewees only a small number of alternatives from which they must choose and which may, in fact, not include the correct option.
“Do you prefer tea, coffee or hot-chocolate?”

30. Multiple questions
A multiple question is an utterance that asks about several things at once
“Did you see him? Was he standing? Did he have a coat on?”
The main problem with this utterance is that people do not know which part of it to answer
Prone to create misunderstanding
Only ask one question at times

31. Leading and misleading questions
The distinction between a leading and misleading questions concerns the nature of the implies response. The prior leads the interviewee to a correct response whereas the latter leads the interviewee to an incorrect response
You told your mom that you were scared of him, did you?

32. Closing the Interview
Review the main points the child has disclosed or described to you
Confirm, for each point separately that you heard the child correctly
Tell the child that he or she may remember more details later that you need to know those, too
Encourage the child to let someone know if he or she remembers more
Ask whether the child has any questions for you
Thank the child for talking with you

33. Closing cont.
Return to a neutral topic, such as what the child will do after the interview is over, or child´s pets, hobbies, or activities
Don´t give the child any promises
Prepare them if you think or know that they have to come back for another interview
Remember this interview is the first step or the gateway to the child´s recovery

34. Good interviewer behavior
Appropriate non-verbal behavior during the interview is just as important for successful interview as the verbal instructions:
Sit in a relaxed manner: turn your body somewhat towards the interviewee (10 to 2)
Express friendliness and support
Use eye contact frequently but do not stare at the interviewee
Speak slowly, use short sentences and leave short pauses between sentences

35. Cont.
Express attention and interest frequently by nodding, “mhm” etc. But do not give qualitative feedback (e.g. “good”, “right”)
Praise the interviewee for his or her effort in general
Avoid hectic movements and hectic speech style
Do not interrupt
Allow for pauses
Express patience

36. The Interview room The interview room should not be too big
The room should be child friendly with pictures and colors that children like
No toys for playing but stuffed animals are OK
Furniture in children's sizes if possible
Crayons and paper if needed
No drinks or food

37. Helpful hints for forensic interviewing
Script
Good organization or work habits
Lot of practice
Criticize your own work by looking at videocassettes of your interviews
No interview is perfect