GUIDANCE ON INTERVIEWING CHILD WITNESSES IN SCOTLAND - Supporting Child Witnesses Guidance Pack
APPENDICES A AND B
Appendices A and B provide sample protocols that can be modified to suit the needs of the child you will be interviewing. Current research indicates that interviewers find a highly structured interview protocol easiest to use and most effective.
APPENDIX A
Protocol example. Interviewers can modify according to the particular child's needs. Protocols should be age appropriate.
Introduction
[Lead interviewer:] "Hello [child's name], my name is ---------. I am a police officer/social worker/etc. Part of my job is to listen to children and youths about things that may have happened to them, to give them a chance to describe any worries they may have".
[Second interviewer introduces him or herself too]
[Second interviewer:] "I will be writing things down today, because what you say here is important and I want to be sure I remember it properly."
[Obtain consent if haven't already done so. Also, answer any spontaneous questions the child asks at this point.]
Ground rules
"Before we begin, there are some things I want to go over with you."
"Firstly, I am here mainly to listen. I'll be asking you to tell me about things that have happened to you but this is your chance to do most of the talking."
(Pause)
"I don't know what happened, I wasn't there, so I'll need you to help me understand everything. Even if you think I already know something, you should still tell me. Have I explained that properly?"
(Pause)
"Now, I might ask some questions that you don't know the answers to. That's OK. This isn't like school - you know if a teacher asks you a question and you say you don't know, what does your teacher say to you?"
(Child: "They say I should try or guess the answer.")
"Well I don't expect you to know all the answers. If you don't know, just say "I don't know". Let's practice that. If I say, 'What day is my birthday?' you should say..."
(Wait for child's response)
"That's right. Also, if you don't remember the answer to something, it's OK to say, 'I don't remember'."
"Now, I might ask you some questions today which you don't understand or seem a bit 'strange'. I'll try not to, but if I do, I want you to say, 'I don't understand'. Then I can try to put it another way. So, if I say, 'How many wegs are in a wug?' you should say..."
(Wait for child's response)
"That's right. You should not try to guess the answers. If a question doesn't make sense, just tell me. Also if I make a mistake, or get something wrong, I want you to tell me. For example, if I say, 'So do you like being 7 years old?' you should say, 'I'm not 7 years old, I'm 5 years old' because that is how old you really are. Let's practice with another example. If I say your daddy is called X, you should say..."
(Wait for child's response)
"Yes, your daddy is really called Y. Always correct me if I say something wrong".
"Now, I might ask you the same question more than once today. Or, I might ask you a question that someone else has already asked you. That doesn't mean that you gave the wrong answer the first time. It's just to help me remember what has been said. So if I do ask a question again, just tell me the truth, because that is very important".
(Pause)
"I want you to tell me the truth. Not what someone else has told you to say. I don't want you to make anything up. Only tell me what really happened to you - what you saw with your own eyes, what you heard with your own ears, smelled with your own nose, and tasted with your own mouth. Will you do that?"
Practising free narrative
"So far, I've done a lot of talking. But from now on today, you shall be doing most of the talking. Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself and your family."
(Wait for child's response)
"And what else can you tell me about your family?"
(Wait for response)
"What do you enjoy doing?" ( Child: "Watching television".) "Tell me all about your favourite television programme."
(Wait for response)
"Not long ago, we celebrated an event called --------- [e.g. Christmas]. Tell me how you celebrated [the event]".
(Wait for response)
"What else can you tell me about [the event]?"
(Wait for response)
"Think again about [the event]. I would like you to tell me everything that happened, from when you got up that morning right through until when you went to bed that night."
[ If the child only speaks briefly then prompt with, "And then what happened?". Also, probe for details of each item mentioned by the child. For example if the child says, "We opened presents" then say, "Tell me everything that you can remember, every detail, about you opening your presents."]
(Wait for response. Then to conclude...)
"Wow, it sounds like you had a great [event]!"
Raising topic of concern
[ Provide quick reminder of ground rules]
"Now, it's time to talk about something else, the reason you are here today. Do you know why you are here today?"
[ If the child refers to, or makes, an allegation then repeat that allegation and ask the child to expand on it with more detail:]
"OK, so [briefly summarise the main offence/problem that the child has just disclosed]. I want you to tell me everything that happened; from the very beginning to the very end, as best you can remember."
[ On the other hand, if the first request does not elicit any relevant response then proceed through the hierarchy of prompts below:]
"Tell me why you are here today";
"I heard you said something to your teacher/friend/mummy last week. Tell me everything you can about that";
"As I told you, my job is to talk to children about things which may be troubling them. It is very important I understand if anything is troubling you. Tell me why you think [the carer] has brought you here today."
Free narrative
[ When the child does refer to the allegation, encourage them to give a free narrative using appropriate open-ended questions, follow-ups and prompts when the child stops]
e.g. "Tell me everything you can about that", "Then what happened?", "uh huh", "go on", "You said -----------. Can you tell me more about that, please?"
Questioning
[ Once it is clear that the child has finished their free narrative, establish whether the event described was a one-off or a repeated event:]
"Did that happen one time or more than one time?"
[ If the child replies, "one time" then draw the child's attention back to a particular salient detail that they talked about. Refer to that, and other details where necessary, to obtain a fuller account/clarification]
"You said earlier that -------------------. Please tell me/explain/describe..."
[ If the child says it happened more than once:]
"Think back to: the time you remember best/the first time/the last time. I want to understand what happened, from the very beginning to the very end."
[ After the child has finished talking about event no. 1, continue with open-ended prompts, e.g. "And then what happened?", "What else can you tell me about that?". Once the child has finished talking about that incident, ask about other salient ones and try to obtain as much detail about each]
[ Finally, ask, "Is there another time you remember well? Tell me about that time, from the very beginning to the very end", using the prompts above to elicit additional information]
[ If more evidentially important details are required from the child, e.g. about the offender's appearance, then probe for them at this stage with specific "Wh-" questions wherever possible.]
e.g. "What did the man look like?" [ Wait for response then follow-up with] "Tell me more about this man, everything you can remember."
Closure
[ After summarising the main points of the child's statement and having conferred with the second interviewer, ask:]
"Is there something else I should know?"
(Wait for response)
"Is there something else you want to tell me?"
(Wait for response)
"Do you have any questions you'd like to ask me?"
(Wait for response)
[ After this discussion, provide the child with contact names/addresses/numbers. Then say:]
"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us today, ------. I'm going to take you back to [your mum/dad/other person] in just a minute. What are you going to do once the interview is over?"
(Wait for response)
[ If the child says for example that they are going to go home, ask:]
e.g. "Are you going to watch some TV?" or "Are you going to have something to eat?"
(Wait for response)
"What is your favourite TV programme/food?" [and so on until the child is calm and relaxed and ready to leave]