NCJ Number
149298
Date Published
1993
Length
45 pages
Annotation
The Great Britain Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers cooperated in the development of a training course in investigative interviewing. A 5-day pilot course was run in four locations in England during 1992 and subjected to an independent evaluation.
Abstract
The effectiveness of the course was measured by contrasting the performance of officers undergoing the training with that of a control group before the course, immediately afterwards, and six months later. During the assessment, performance indicators were applied to simulated interviews which were recorded on video, and to operational audiotaped interviews conducted in the officers' forces. Students and controls were also tested on their knowledge of interviewing techniques. The results showed that on a written examination, students performed better than controls. In the simulated interviews with witnesses and suspects, the course participants improved from their pre-course scores and this improvement was maintained at the 6-month follow-up. The assessment also demonstrated that students performed better in operational interviews with suspects. 6 figures, 1 table, 6 references, and 2 appendixes