Forensic Psychology Strategies

The focus of a forensic psychology often differs from that of law enforcement as a whole. A forensic psychologist’s main purpose is to elicit the most accurate information from witnesses. The CI is a common tool for the forensic psychologist. The CI is one of the most exciting developments in forensic psychology in the last 20 years (Stein & Memon, 2006). “To date, some 65 empirical studies of CI have been conducted” (Stein & Memon, 2006, p. 597). The CI interviewer asks the witness to recall information in a variety of orders. Whenever possible, interviewers use open-ended questions. Interviewees are encouraged to close their eyes and narrate the imagery in a much detail as possible (Shepard, Mortimer, & Turner, 1999).

Cognitive interviewing has started to be used for a variety of purposes. Survey researchers are developing a growing interest in CI strategies to obtain accurate information (e.g., McColl, 2006). CI has also proven useful in dealing with respondents with differing conceptual and linguistic abilities and reducing error in estimates with poorer, less educated subpopulations (Miller, 2003).

CI has also been studied in research for dealing with special needs persons (e.g., Shepard, et al., 1999; Aldridge, 1999; Milne & Bull, 2001; Brodsky & Bennett, 2005; Thompson, Reuland, & Souweine, 2003). These special needs persons include children, those with learning disabilities, the mentally retarded, and the mentally ill.

Cognitive Interviewing in the Law Enforcement Community

The advent of CI by the psychological community (forensic psychology) has led to a widening of its use within the law enforcement community. A critical component of police investigators is to obtain accurate and detailed information from eyewitnesses (MacKinnon, O’Reilly, & Geiselman, 1990). The use of CI within the law enforcement community is a positive step, but much training is still needed. Alison & Howard (2005) looked into the use of CI with law enforcement and found that the techniques were not being properly used. Rather, they found a hybrid version of CI combined with more traditional interrogation practices. They concluded that ‘Police appear to be focused on the collection of evidence, rather than strictly obtaining a confession or searching for the truth’ (p. 134).

Another study conducted with Canadian police found that officers first “help” the witness construct the event and then, through rapid sequences of questions, seek to confirm the account (Wright & Alison, 2004). They argued that police officers are pursuing an assumed version of events and that using interviews in a sequencing perspective may prove beneficial in identifying biased versions of events. MacKinnon, et al. (1990) studied recall of license plates and found that CI strategies significantly increased the amount of correct information.