Eliciting an offence narrative: what types of questions do forensic mental health practitioners ask?

Abstract

Maximising the accuracy and detail of information elicited through a clinical–forensic interview may increase the reliability and validity of an individual’s assessment. Despite this, there is little empirical research on what questions forensic mental health practitioners employ, and whether these correspond with empirically established interviewing strategies. In this study, 22 forensic mental health practitioners participated in a mock interview of a young person referred for a sexual risk assessment. The results highlighted that participants asked very few ‘open’ questions, over-relied on ‘specific’ questions and an average of 13% of questions were leading. Finally, practitioners predominantly used ‘yes/no’ questions when exploring the young person’s thoughts, feelings, and physiological responses. Overall, the study demonstrated that empirically supported interviewing techniques were not commonly employed and highlighted the need for further professional development and training around clinical forensic interviewing strategies that best elicit the information needed to inform risk assessment.

Key words:

• clinical forensic interviewing
• forensic mental health
• investigative interview
• risk assessment
• young offenders

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Tasneem Hasan, Program Manager of the Forensic Child and Youth Mental Health Service–Children’s Health Queensland, for her support in the development and undertaking of this study.

Ethical standards

Declaration of conflicts of interest

Chelsea Leach has declared no conflicts of interest.

Francesca Brown has declared no conflicts of interest.

Luke Pryor has declared no conflicts of interest.

Martine Powell has declared no conflicts of interest and would like to note she is the Director of a Centre that is a research and training hub in investigative interviewing.

Scott Harden has declared no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Children’s Health Queensland Human Research Ethics Committee (Reference Number: LNR/2019/QCHQ/59087) and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study