RESUMO
Regarding police procedures with alcohol-intoxicated witnesses, Swedish police officers have previously reported inconsistent and subjective decisions when interviewing these potentially vulnerable witnesses. Most officers have also highlighted the need for national policy guidelines aiding in conducting investigative interviews with intoxicated witnesses. The aims of the two studies presented here were to investigate whether (1) police officers' inconsistent interview decisions are attributable to a lack of research-based knowledge; (2) their decision to interview, as well as their perceptions of the witnesses' credibility could be influenced by scientific research; and (3) police officers decision-making and perceptions of witness credibility are biased by pre-existing social norms. In two separate randomized online experiments, police professionals and recruits (Study 1, N = 43; Study 2, N = 214) watched a recorded fictive witness interview to which they were asked to rate the probability of interviewing the witness, the witness' credibility, and to estimate the witness' level of intoxication. Results showed that interview probability and perceived witness credibility were affected by witness intoxication level. While it cannot be stated definitely from the present research, these findings provided indications that police officers and recruits lacked research-based knowledge. Results also showed that interview probability, but not perceptions of credibility, was influenced by a research-based message. In line with research, interview probability for the most intoxicated witness increased after reading the message. Unexpectedly, neither interview probability nor witness credibility was affected by social norms. The current findings added to the legal psychology literature by showing that a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) as low as .04% was enough for police officers and recruits to consider intoxicated witnesses less credible than sober witnesses. Findings also indicated that, despite the lower credibility assessment, police may have some understanding that these witnesses can be interviewed at low intoxication levels (i.e., around .04%). However, this willingness to interview intoxicated witnesses ceased at a BrAC lower than the levels where research has found intoxicated witnesses as reliable as sober witnesses (i.e., BrAC < .10%). Future directions for research and policy development as well as theoretical and practical implications of the present findings are discussed.
RESUMO
AbstractBackground:Despite the common occurrence of alcohol-related crimes, the Swedish police authority currently lacks national guidelines for dealing with intoxicated victims/witnesses.
Antecedentes: A pesar de que los delitos relacionados con el alcohol son bastante frecuentes, la policía sueca carece en la actualidad de directrices con las que hacer frente a los interrogatorios y entrevistas de víctimas y testigos intoxicados. Método: Esta encuesta trata de explorar los procedimientos de la policía ante personas intoxicadas y comparar los resultados con estadísticas internacionales. Con el fin de facilitar la comparación internacional la encuesta fue ajustada en contenidos a la investigación previa y adaptada al contexto sueco. Se envió una solicitud con un enlace a la encuesta a todas las regiones policiales de Suecia. Resultados: Ciento treinta y tres agentes de policía respondieron que era habitual interactuar con testigos/víctimas intoxicados. Algunos departamentos de policía disponían de directrices locales sobre cómo llevar a cabo entrevistas de investigación con personas intoxicadas pero dependía de cada agente formarse un juicio subjetivo sobre la interacción con estos testigos. Los datos evidenciaron que la alta prevalencia de testigos/víctimas intoxicadas en Suecia es similar a la de Australia, EE. UU. y Reino Unido. Parece que la policía sueca desconoce la investigación sobre cuándo y cómo llevar a cabo entrevistas de investigación con testigos y víctimas intoxicados, un grupo vulnerable. Conclusiones: Se recomienda la colaboración estrecha entre policía e investigadores para crear directrices para la investigación policial con personas intoxicadas.
