Police interviews with suspected child sex offenders: does use of empathy and question type influence the amount of investigation relevant information obtained?

Abstract

Using transcripts of 26 real-life interviews with suspected child sex offenders from England, this study examined the use of empathy and the impact of question type on the amount of investigation relevant information (IRI) obtained. There were no significant differences in the amount of IRI obtained in the interviews as a function of the use of empathy by police officers. The mean proportion of inappropriate questions was significantly higher than the mean proportion of appropriate questions and, as hypothesized, the responses to appropriate questions contained significantly more items of IRI than responses to inappropriate questions.

Keywords:

• Interviews
• sexual offending
• investigation
• empathy
• information obtained

Notes

1. ABE training is specialist training provided in England and Wales for the interviewing of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, including children.

2. It is accepted that in some specialist interviews (e.g. interviews with some child witnesses, including pre-school children) open-ended questions may not be the most appropriate to elicit the best blend of completeness and accuracy, or in eliciting elaborate responses (Lamb, Hershkowitz, Orbach, & Esplin, 2008; Powell & Snow, 2007).

3. In England & Wales, there are five tiers of interview training for officers, Tier 1 being the initial PEACE training course, designed to equip officers with the necessary skills for interviewing witnesses and suspects of crime.

4. A computer software package designed for qualitative analysis that provides a database to ensure effective and organized analyses.

5. Defined as allegations of child abuse reported to the police, ‘a long time after the abuse has occurred’ (NCPE 2005, p. 18).

6. In England and Wales, persons being formally interviewed as a suspect have a fundamental right in law not to answer any questions put to them by the police, although a court may draw an inference from their silence. These are referred to as ‘No Comment’ interviews.