Investigative interviewing of children : barriers to adopting 'best-practice' guidelines

This research examined the global difficulties of investigative interviewers in adhering to best-practice guidelines (i.e. open-ended questions) when interviewing children about abuse. It demonstrated that the importance of, and rationale for, using open-ended questions is not well understood by investigative interviewers, nor are they adequately reinforced with police organisations.

A descriptive interview with 64 patients discharged from an acute-psyciatric-inpatient service

Background Acute-mental-health services receive hundreds of admissions every year. Some of these patients will continue to be case-managed by community mental-health teams on discharge from the acute unit while others will not remain in contact with the mental-health service. This study compares the findings of comprehensive interviews conducted with current and past patients of the community mental-health service 3 or more years following case closure from the community ambulatory service.
Methods Between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2001, there were 2245 closed cases identified at Barwon Health. Letters of invitation to participate in a research project were sent to people who had suffered from psychotic illnesses, and had been case-closed by community mental-health services between the above dates and had not been in contact with the Community and Mental Health Service for at least 6 months. A second group of participants was recruited from people who had also been case-closed by community mental health teams in Barwon Health during the 1999–2001 2-year-time window but whose cases had been re-opened and who were in case management with Barwon Health at the time of the study. All participants were interviewed using the Diagnostic Interview for Psychosis.
Results Letter responses were received from 17 men and 18 women, aged 40.7 ± 12.0 (mean ± SD), who were interviewed. A second group of 17 men and 12 women, aged 40.9 ± 9.6 (mean ± SD) of currently case-managed patients was interviewed. All interviewees reported a detailed history of mental illness. Persistent social dysfunction and impaired quality of life were reported in both groups.
Conclusion Patients suffering from psychotic disorders who had been case-closed by community mental-health teams and had been discharged to the care of their general practitioners or elsewhere continued to show evidence of significant impairment due to mental illness 3 years after being case-closed.

Criminal processes and investigative procedures : Victoria and Commonwealth

This book is designed to be a useful and practical tool for both students and legal practitioners alike. In addition to focusing on the recently enacted Criminal Protective Act 2009, this text also highlights other key aspects of the criminal processes.

An analysis of police officers decisions about whether to refer cases of child abuse for prosecution

In many jurisdictions, police officers are responsible for deciding whether cases of child abuse are referred for potential prosecution. Such discretion justifies the need to scrutinise these professionals' decisions to determine if they are consistent with the scientific eyewitness memory literature. Prior research has shown that interviewer questioning is one of the most critical factors impacting the reliability of child witness statements. Hence, we asked: 'To what degree do officers' consider the quality of interviewer questions when making case authorisation decisions?'. In order to answer this question, we conducted a thematic analysis to identify issues referred to in a sample of documented police correspondence (n=33) about potential prosecution of child abuse cases. Two key themes emerged: the existence of corroborative evidence and whether the suspect denied the allegations. Questioning technique, however, was not considered. All but one decision that referred to interview process focused on the presentation of the witness, even though the witness interviews (as a whole) did not adhere to recommended best-practice guidelines. The implications of these findings are discussed.

A controlled analysis of professionals' contemporaneous notes of interviews about alleged child abuse

Objective : The current study investigated (under optimal conditions) the accuracy and completeness of professionals’ contemporaneous written notes of child abuse interviews.
Method : Participants included 107 experienced child abuse investigators who were all trained to adhere to best-practice interview guidelines and who routinely took notes as records of interviews. The interviews documented for this study were read live for 15 min duration, and at a pace of 2.2 words (on average)/s. The professionals’ notes of the interviews were analyzed for completeness and accuracy. Key outcome measures were the prevalence and discernability of the questions (i.e., whether the structure of questions was recorded accurately) as well as the child responses.
Results : Despite the omission of 39% of abuse-related details, recording of content details was clearly prioritized over interviewer questions. This was revealed irrespective of the measure of note taking quality or the quality of the interview being recorded. Of the various layout styles employed, scrutiny of interviewer questions was maximized by: (a) using symbols or spacing to delineate questions and responses, (b) capturing the first two words of a question, and (c) using abbreviations.
Conclusions : Although note taking could potentially improve with further research, training and instruction, this form of documentation does not provide full scrutiny of the interview process, even under optimal conditions.
Practice implications : Electronic recording is strongly recommended for all interviews, especially considering global concerns about interviewers’ adherence to best-practice interview guidelines. If notes continue to be used as a record of interview, further research and training are urgently warranted to improve note taking competency.

Trauma and holocaust video testimony : the intersection of history, memory, and judgment in the interview process

This article analyzes video testimonies recorded at the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre in Melbourne,Australia, which address the highly complex and sensitive issue of “privileged” Jews. The so-called privileged Jews include prisoners in the Nazi-operated camps and ghettos who held positions that gave them access to material and other benefits, while compelling them to act in ways that have been judged detrimental to fellow inmates. Although the issue of “privileged” Jews has been largely neglected, it relates to a crucial facet of the Holocaust and has vast implications for its aftermath. The ethical dilemmas facing these victims may be closely linked to what Lawrence Langer has termed choiceless choices, which challenge conventional notions of “judgment” and “responsibility.” This problem is also the primary subject of Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi’s essay titled “The Grey Zone,” which is arguably the most influential essay ever written on the Holocaust. Levi argues that one should abstain from judging individuals who confronted such extreme circumstances, positioning prisoners with “privileged” positions at the threshold of representation and understanding. However, moral evaluations of “privileged” Jews have a strong impact on Holocaust testimonies, whether these were constructed during the war or recorded long after the survivors’ experiences. The examples of video testimonies explored in this article reveal that this is particularly the case when interviewees are former “privileged” Jews and interviewers are themselves Holocaust survivors. The article argues that when confronted with such an emotionally and morally fraught issue, judgment may itself be seen as a “limit of representation.”

"Who drank the hemlock?" : an interview with Noam Chomsky

An interview with activist, linguist and intellectual professor Noam Chomsky is presented. When asked about the ability of public intellectuals to shape government policy, he says that they can manipulate the public since it is part of their role. Chomsky states that public intellectuals can shape the government policy through addressing the population. He shares that the role of public intellectuals is to assure that the only thing that people heard is the voice of those power and privilege.

"If you don't want to take risks, then you have to be silent" : an interview with Howard Zinn.

An interview with intellectual Howard Zinn is presented. When asked on the responsibilities of a public intellectual, he mentioned doing something that would benefit the society and not just satisfying one's own personal ambition. He states that there are risks on coming up with ideas as a public intellectual, including the opinions of the people. He discusses the benefits and problems of being allied to a university as a public intellectual.

Reliability of the mood disorder questionnaire : comparison with the structured clinical interview for the DSM-IV-TR in a population sample

Objective: The Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ) is a widely used self-report screening instrument for the detection of bipolar disorder in clinical populations. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate the reliability of this instrument.

Methods: Screening results using the MDQ were compared with results obtained using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR Research Version, Non-patient edition (SCID) in a community-based sample of 1066 women. Trained personnel, who were blind to the results of the MDQ screen, conducted clinical interviews.

Results: Using the MDQ, 21 women screened positive for bipolar disorder, and using the SCID diagnoses, 24 women were confirmed with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Six women were detected on both instruments. Compared to the SCID, the sensitivity for the MDQ was 25%, specificity 99%, positive predictive value 28%, negative predictive value 98%, and a demonstrated kappa of 0.25. The MDQ failed to detect any of the 11 participants in the study with bipolar II disorder and missed seven of 13 participants with bipolar I disorder or bipolar not otherwise specified. Of the 21 women who screened positive using the MDQ, 19 had current or past psychopathologies other than bipolar disorder.

Conclusion: The MDQ has substantial limitations for detection of bipolar disorder, in particular bipolar II disorder, in non-clinical populations.