Uncovering the Truth From a Child: An Investigator's Guide to Interviewing Children

• NCJ Number: 212420
• Author(s): Wendy Erickson
• Editor(s): Jeff Crane
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 16 pages
• Corporate Author: Rocky Mountain Information Network
• Sale Source: Rocky Mountain Information Network
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This booklet provides information and guidelines for interviewing children who are victims of or witnesses to a crime.

Abstract

The author first notes the frequency with which young children (12 years old or younger) are victims or witnesses of crime, particularly crimes committed by family members in the home. The prevalence of such incidents makes it imperative that police officers become familiar with strategies and techniques for interviewing children. Due to the complexity of interviewing child victims and witnesses, however, many jurisdictions are adopting a multidisciplinary approach to cases with child victims. Police officers often lack the knowledge of child developmental patterns that influence how children perceive events and express what they have experienced and observed. Before beginning an interview with a child, the adult interviewer must reframe his/her thought processes by taking into consideration the child's ability to remember past events, the child's susceptibility to suggestions, his/her language level, the interview environment, and the need to establish rapport with the child. This booklet explains how to assess the child's memory, how to avoid suggestibility, how to create an effective environment for the interview, how to establish rapport, how to adapt one's language level to that of the child, how to set guidelines for the child, and how to get the child to focus on and explore a topic. Various types of questions, both desirable and undesirable, are discussed. The booklet concludes with a discussion of the role of child advocacy centers, which are community-based facilities that coordinate services for child victims and witnesses. These centers coordinate the work of law enforcement officers, child protection workers, prosecutors, medical professionals, victim advocates, and therapists in conducting an investigation in a manner most beneficial to the child. 17 references and a listing of advocacy centers in various States