INTERVIEWING CHILDREN

AN ART AND A SCIENCE

PREPARE, PREPARE, PREPARE… You only have about 45 minutes tops, less

with younger children. Write down your questions and strategies. Find out about any

– Behavioral problems– Disability problems– Health issues– On medication?

CREATE A COMFORTABLE ENVIRONMENT Use a colorful, child-friendly environment No interruptions and private from parents The room should have a two-way mirror

– Allows for monitoring– Limits the need for repeat interviews

Wear regular clothes (general rule) Establish rapport

– Talk about neutral things: hobbies, TV, play,…– Then talk about family and more personal “stuff”

• Who lives with you?• Who is important in your life?

KNOW THEIR FEARS Adults want the offender arrested, children almost

always don’t Unknown consequences Other common fears:

– I’ll get into trouble– Mommy won’t love me anymore– Everyone will know what happened– You’ll take me away– Will I have to go to court?– Will my mommy or daddy have to go to court?– If I tell you, will I have tell someone else?

HELP TO ALEVIATE THEIR FEARS Find out what their fear is if they are not

talking… – “I can see that you’re scared. What do you

think will happen if you tell me?”

Give a clear response to the specific fear– For example, if the child fears that she will get

into trouble for telling, then tell the child, “You won’t get into any trouble. I am hear to listen and to help.”

DETERMINE THE CHILD’S DEVELOPMENTAL AGE

Assess their level of functioning

Adjust your language to that of the child

Use crayons for counting (to see if the child understands it)

Say the ABC’s What is the truth and what

is a lie? Inside/Outside… On

top/underneath Body parts

CLARIFY TERMINOLOGY With young children,

start with identifying animals, then body parts

Use the drawing technique and point to parts

What does “peepee” mean?

What is the “kittycat”?

GIVE PERMISSION NOT TO TALK

Say, “You’re not in trouble. If you don’t want to say certain things, you don’t have to.”

Gives the child some control over the process.

Gets information legally… not forced!

Otherwise, you may get a lot of “I don’t know” answers

CREDIBILITY CHECK

Determine if the child is susceptible to suggestion:– Use a marker and make

a circle.

– Call the circle the wrong color and see if the child corrects it.

– If the child doesn’t, ask why…

ASK THE RIGHT TYPE OF QUESTIONS

Don’t lead them Don’t believe all denials

automatically Use open-ended, non-

leading questions– They can use their own words.– Stand up in court

Yes/No are not reliable answers

Say: Tell me about this.– What happened?– What happened then?

Don’t say: Did he do this?

REMEMBER THE GOAL

Investigate criminal abuse Get the information Determine what happened Identify the victims Prevent future harm to victims.

CONCLUSION

QUESTIONS?