Police Interviewers' Perceptions of Child Credibility in Forensic Investigations.

During investigative interviews, police practice can influence key aspects of child credibility, namely the accuracy, competency, reliability, and truthfulness of their testimony. To date, police interviewers' perceptions of how best to assess child credibility at interview, and how practice impacts upon credibility, have been overlooked. We conducted a qualitative study that examined data from focus groups with 16 English police officers who regularly interview children. The focus group transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis, and four main themes were identified - the 4Es: eliciting information, evaluating credibility, empowering the interviewee, and a high-quality end product. Within these themes, police officers acknowledged some responsibility for the perceived credibility of child victims. Poor interviewing practice could decrease the accuracy of the information elicited and cross-examined in court. Registered intermediaries could empower child interviewees and increase their competency. A lack of reliability contributed to evaluating credibility, but this relationship was not straightforward. Finally, obtaining the most truthful account from child victims was not always possible, because there are many barriers to overcome. Our findings suggest the need for a continued focus on interview protocols that facilitate disclosure from child victims and a review of the professional relationship between those who interview children and prosecutors.

Police officers' perceptions and experiences with mentally disordered suspects.

Despite mentally disordered suspects being over-represented within the criminal justice system, there is a dearth of published literature that examines police officers' perceptions when interviewing this vulnerable group. This is concerning given that police officers are increasingly the first point of contact with these individuals. Using a Grounded Theory approach, this study examined 35 police officers' perceptions and experiences when interviewing mentally disordered suspects. Current safeguards, such as Appropriate Adults, and their experiences of any training they received were also explored. A specially designed questionnaire was developed and distributed across six police forces in England and Wales. Nine conceptual categories emerged from the data that highlighted how police officers' level of experience impacted upon their perceptions when dealing with this cohort. As a consequence, a new model grounded within Schema Theory has emerged termed Police Experience Transitional Model. Implications include the treatment and outcome of mentally disordered suspects being heavily dependent on whom they encounter within the criminal justice system.

Using grounded theory to examine people's attitudes toward how animals are used.

This study uses qualitative methodology to examine why people have different attitudes toward different types of nonhuman animal use. Seventeen participants took part in a semi-structured interview. The study used Grounded Theory to analyze the interviews and developed a model that consists of 4 major themes: (a) "attitudes toward animals," (b) "knowledge of animal use procedures," (c) "perceptions of choice," and (d) "cost-benefit analysis." The findings illustrate that cognitive processing, characteristics of the species of animal being used, and the type of animal use can all influence attitudes toward animal use. Because previous research has focused on participant variables such as age and gender to explain variance in attitudes toward animal use (Furnham & Pinder, 1990; Kellert & Berry, 1981) and measured attitudes toward animal use in general (rather than distinguishing between different types of use) (Armstrong & Hutchins, 1996), these findings can add to knowledge of people's views on animal use. This paper discusses how such views may be justified and maintained.