Forensic Interviews of Children
Forensic interviewinvolves objectively interviewing children in a neutral environment & videotaping it. The interviewer establishes rapport with the child, establishes the child’s ability to understand truth vs. lie, and then discusses (with the child) why the child is being interviewed. Interviewing a child successfully could take up to 4 or 5 one-hour interviews. At the end of the assessment, the interviewer would draw a report detailing only the facts that were disclosed or not disclosed by the child. The report is submitted with the video. THERE IS NO PSYCHIATRIC OR PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING. The interviewer does not submit an opinion as to whether anything happened: The interviewer will only submit a report as to what the child said to a neutral person trained to interview.
Forensic interviews could be useful to law enforcement, especially those that need a female to interview children.