Interviewing witnesses and victims

Police investigators agree that eyewitnesses usually provide central leads in their investigations (Berresheim and Weber, 2003; George and Clifford, 1992; Kebbell and Milne, 1998). Police lament, however, that witnesses rarely provide sufficient information (Kebbell and Milne, 1998). How might police improve the quality and quantity of evidence elicited from eyewitnesses? Unfortunately, police cannot control the viewing conditions or the quality of the witness’s memory. Of the various factors that police can control, the most productive approach is to concentrate on how they interview witnesses. We open this chapter by describing a typical police interview of a cooperative witness. We then describe a scientifically based interviewing protocol that has been developed to enhance witness recall: the cognitive interview (CI). The CI has been tested many times, in both laboratory studies and in real-world investigations, and we describe these validation studies, with special attention to police reactions to conducting CI interviews. Finally, the chapter closes with a view toward the future, where we recommend areas of research and application.