What Is Forensic Interviewing?

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What Is Forensic Interviewing?

Forensic interviewing is a first step in most child protective services (CPS) investigations, one in which a professional interviews a child to find out if he or she has been maltreated. In addition to yielding the information needed to make a determination about whether abuse or neglect has occurred, this approach produces evidence that will stand up in court if the investigation leads to criminal prosecution. Properly conducted forensic interviews are legally sound in part because they ensure the interviewer’s objectivity, employ non-leading techniques, and emphasize careful documentation of the interview.

A fuller understanding of forensic interviewing and its role in child welfare can be gained by comparing it with social work interviewing, another type of interviewing commonly used by child welfare workers. The social work interview allows social workers to assess and identify a family’s strengths and needs and develop a service plan with the family. This broad, versatile approach incorporates the use of a variety of interviewing techniques. Social work interviewing is used at every step of child welfare, from intake through case closure; it is used with individuals and groups, children and adults.

Although it employs some of the same techniques as the social work interview, such as open-ended and forced choice questions, the forensic interview is much more focused. Generally it is used only during the assessment portion of a CPS investigation, and involves only the children who are the subject of the investigation.

Although of vital importance in investigations where it is likely substantiation will lead to criminal prosecution, such as cases of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, forensic interviews occur in virtually all CPS investigations. Mark Everson, an expert on forensic interviewing with the Child Forensic Evaluation Program, emphasizes that even in responding to reports of neglect, when workers begin exploring the allegations with a child, “they should approach this as a forensic interview, not as casual conversation.”

Why Are They Needed?

Because most perpetrators deny the abuse and most acts of maltreatment are not witnessed, the victim’s statement is critical evidence in child abuse cases. Yet developmental issues, such as children’s varying abilities to recall events and use language, as well as the trauma they may have experienced, complicate efforts to obtain information about the abuse. The forensic interview is designed to overcome these obstacles (HCCAC, 1999).

The goal of the forensic interview is to obtain a statement from a child in an objective, developmentally sensitive, and legally defensible manner (Davies, et al., 1997). To ensure facts are gathered in a way that will stand up in court, forensic interviews are carefully controlled: the interviewer’s statements and body language must be neutral, alternative explanations for a child’s statements are thoroughly explored, and the results of the interview are documented in such a way that they can bear judicial scrutiny.