Paper 2 Q10 2021
10 Detective Inspector Leeming is in charge of leading an investigation into a major
crime. As part of the investigation she and another police officer have to interview a
suspect. The suspect is under 16 years of age. Detective Inspector Leeming is upset
by the details of the crime. The interview is going to take place in two weeks’ time and
will be recorded. There has been no video footage of the incident found as yet. Ethical
interview techniques are going to be used during the interview.
Evaluate ethical interview techniques as they will be used by Detective Inspector
Leeming.
You must make reference to the context in your answer. (16)
One strength of ethical interview techniques is that they focus on adhering to ethics. This is
based on the ethical principles of everyone having worth and needing to be treated with
dignity. The first stage is planning and preparing, where the aims, objectives and topics of
interest are noted, along with questions and the place where the interview will be recorded.
For example, inspector Leeming could first note down the aim he’s attempting to achieve
such as obtaining useful information about the crime that the suspect has committed. Then
she could find out how to record the interview and at which time it will take place.Fisher and
Geiselman (1992) found that building a rapport with the interviewee is good as this shows
empathy and active listening, which improves the amount of information yielded and helps to
adhere to ethical guidelines. This suggests that the suspect under 16 years of age can be
treated with dignity and helps inspector Leeming to conduct the interview in an ethical
manner. However, studies investigating only the ethical implications of this type of interview
are harder to track down as they tend to focus on what is recalled instead of the ethical
implications. This means that ethical interviews may not be as ethical as they initially seem
as the inspector may then choose to focus on the suspect’s recall of the crime and not at
how to build a rapport with them or allow them self-determination.
One weakness of ethical interviews is that they may not be fully used. This is because they
take time due to the 5 lengthy stages in the PEACE model. For example, the 4th stage of
bridging closure at the end might be ethical for maintaining a good rapport with the suspect
and reduce anxiety and distress, but it may take some time for them to calm down,
especially if the suspect is under 16 years of age. This suggests that even if the inspector
takes her time to bring the interview to a closure, the suspect may still be agitated about the
case and the police interview, meaning that it may take some time for them to calm down.
This may lead to many police divisions not fully using all 5 components of the PEACE model.
For example, the ethical interview is not used in cases of benefit fraud suspects according to
the British police. This suggests that as the ethical interview may not be used in all
situations, its effectiveness and strengths may be limited. This is because if the inspector
may not have time to bring the interview to a good closure or to explain to the suspect all of
the details surrounding the case, then the suspect may not be comfortable or relaxed
enough to share details of the crime, given that accurate information may less likely to be
obtained if the suspect does not feel secure in the police interview. This implies that the
ethical interview may not be effective if the inspector does not use all 5 components, which
is time consuming.
One strength of ethical interview techniques is that they can be effective in gathering
accurate information. The 3rd stage getting the required account involves inviting the
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