Helping children through the investigative interview process

Conducting forensic interviews with children who may have experienced abuse or have had exposure to violence can be difficult for all involved.  When a forensic interview is required, the needs of the child must come first. In order to do that and facilitate the best outcome, the U.S. Department of Justice has published a bulletin containing information about the best practices for interviewing children including:

• Tips for the interviewer
• Interview phases to encourage greater detail in conversation.   

• Electronic recordings and the interview room
• Ways to build rapport with the child

The end of the report contains a summary of interviewer tips that can be quickly browsed.

Read more.

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