logo

Legal and Organizational Requirements for Interviewing Suspects

   

Added on  2020-05-16

26 Pages6616 Words166 Views
Running Head: POLICINGPolicingName of the student:Name of the University:Author Note

POLICING11.1Legal and organizational requirements for interviewing suspectsAccording to the provisions provided through code of practices for victims of crime 20151.32 when a victim is being interviewed by a police officer who has the responsibility ofinvestigating an offence he has to ensure that the interview is conducted without any unjustifieddelay as soon as a complaint in relation to the offence been committed has been made. It is hisduty to keep the number of interviews as low as possible and only carryout interviews which aremandatory in relation to the investigation. It is the duty of the police officer to allow the victimthe right of being accompanied by a person according to the choice of the victim unless acontrary reasoned decision has been made. The police officer must also seek medicalexamination only in situation where it is strictly necessary in order to successfully investigatecriminal proceedings and keep the medical examinations to a minimum otherwise. According tocode it is the duty of the police officer to ensure that no unnecessary contact with the suspect ismade by the victim or their family where an interview of the victim is required. It is also to beensure that the same person conduct interview of the victim unless the situation would causedetriment to handling the investigation in a proper manner. The interview has to be conducted ina premises which is adopted and designed for the purpose of the interview. It is also to be ensurethat the process of interview is carried out by a professionally trained person. In case the incidentin context is related to any kind of sexual or gender based violence the victim has to be providedwith the choice of getting the interview done by the person of the same sex.The witness charter sets out a standard which a witness may expect when they are to beinterviewed by the police. The standard are set out by the carter under 21 provisions. Theseprovisions are related to the process of police investigation, pre-trial information, going to court,arrival in court, in the court room and post-trial period. Although the standards are not binding

POLICING2legally the level of legal service which as a witness a person may expect is that out by them. Thepolice officer has to treat the witness with dignity and respect at all times. It is also the duty ofthe police officer to keep the witnessed informed about all stages involved in the process at alltimes. The initial assessment of the needs of the witness has to be conducted by the police. Theseassessments all in relation to any help which may be required by the witness for the purpose ofproperly presenting the evidence. In addition to the witness charter the human right legislationalso provides that all witnessed must be treated with integrity and respect. It is the duty of policeofficers to provide the interviewees basic Human Rights during the process of interviewconducted by them.1.2. components of an interview strategyIt can be mentioned that in 1991 the Home office had formed a steering group. The basicobjective behind forming that group was to investigate and develop interview strategy. Thisgroup had developed the PEACE model of interviewing (Walsh and Bull 2015). PEACE is anacronym for: Planning and Preparation, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure and Evaluation.Planning and PreparationThis is the first step of the interview strategy. Planning involves the process to setting upthe interview and getting it ready. Preparation for the interview generally involves getting theenvironment, admin and location ready prior to the interview (Workman-Stark 2017). It can besaid that the planning process is important as it ensures that the interviewer goes in the rightdirection while conducting the interview, ask the questions which are expected to produceanswers relevant to the charges brought against the suspect and remain in control of the

POLICING3interview. It is to be mentioned that not every interview is well planned. The more serious theoffense the more time is invested in preparation of the interview by the police and the regulators. Engage and Explain It is to be mentioned that the opening phase of an interview can be instrumental to theinterviewer’s success. The interviewer in the opening phase is expected to warm up theinterviewee and assist the interviewee to be relaxed and engage in a relationship with theinterviewer so that a relaxed atmosphere is maintained throughout the interview. It can be saidthat engaging with the interviewee is sometimes referred to as the rapport stage. The intervieweris to maintain courtesy, politeness while conducting the interview. The interviewer will need toexplain the formalities of the interview (Walsh and Bull 2015). The interviewer needs to taketime in considering the situation of the interviewee and needs to explain to the interviewee theimportance of statements given by him.AccountIn this stage of the interview, the interviewer obtains the accounts of events as provided bythe interviewee. Therefore the main steps to be taken in this stage are:Obtaining the account of events as described by the intervieweeClarifying and expanding such accountChallenging such interviewee’s account of events with information provided by otherintervieweesIt is to be mentioned that good listening and questioning skills are required to be possessedby the interviewer to obtain accurate and reliable information. During the process of the

POLICING4interview the interviewer may be required to turn uncooperative from cooperative so it isessential that he pays attention to whatever information is being provided by the interviewee.However for conducting cooperative interviews the interviewer may use techniques of freerecall to start the interview and switch to cognitive technique of interviewing for to obtaincritical information.ClosureAn interview is usually closed in a hurry. It can be mentioned that interviewees tend toadvertently admit charges for a short term feeling of anticipated relief. During this phase theissues enumerated below are to be paid attention to:It is important that the interviewee must have understood what happened during thecourse of the interviewThe closure must ensure that the interviewee is certain that the evidence produced bythem is genuine and accurateThe closure stage allow the interviewee to provide additional informationThe interviewee must be explained what is o happen in the next stage of the interviewEvaluationThis is the concluding stage of the aforementioned PEACE interview strategy. Theinterviewer in this phase will atake short break to evaluate the notes made by them and checkswhether the aims and objectives of the interview have been fulfilled.

POLICING51.3.resources which can assist in developing an interview strategyIt is to be mentioned that the resources to be used in developing an interview strategy areidentified and applied in the planning and preparation phase of the interview(App.college.police.uk 2018). All available information is taken into account in the planningphase to identify the issues and objectives of such interview. Whether the interview to beconducted would be successful or prove to be a failure depends on this stage. Therefore the most important resource that is expected to assist in the developing theinterviewing strategy is an interview plan. It can be said that an interview plan gives theinterviewer the opportunity to review the investigation conducted, establish and identify all thematerials that are available and are essential to carry out the interview process. The interviewplan will also help the interviewer to determine the aims and objectives of the interview to beconducted. The questions to be prepared during this phase which might be helpful t theinterviewer are:Who is to be interviewed and in which order is the interview to be carried out?Why is the view point of the interview important?What information needs to be obtained by carrying out the interview?At what time is the interviewee to be interviewed? It can be said that deciding whether tointerview someone immediately or wait to conduct interview until further evidence iscollected against such interviewee needs to be decided in this phase.Identifying the characteristics of the interviewees is also important prior to conducting theinterview. Such information may help the interviewer to obtain desired results from the interview(Bacon 2014). Information about interviewees may include the following points:

End of preview

Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.

Related Documents
Policies and Concepts of Searching, Arrest, and Detention in Criminal Law
|15
|1025
|70

Policies and Concepts of Searching, Arrest, and Detention in Criminal Law
|13
|900
|95

Knife Crime and Legal Framework in the UK
|11
|4272
|354

Miscarriage of Justice in the Criminal Justice System
|9
|2447
|196

Criminal Law and Procedures in the UK: Arrest, Trial, and Sentencing
|8
|2428
|478

Essay on Criminal Procedure
|7
|2038
|29