The effect of a five-month delay on children's and adults' eyewitness memory

Child witnesses must endure a delay of around six months between observing or being the victim of an alleged offence and being required to give evidence in a criminal court. While the legal profession seem to believe that young children's memories are particularly sensitive to the passage of time, developmental psychology can offer little relevant data to support or refute this presumption. In the present study, children aged six and nine years and adults witnessed a staged event and were subsequently interviewed in the days following the event and/or five months later. Results indicate that while all witnesses forgot information over this period, the younger children (six years) recalled slightly less information than the older children and the adults. The total amount of incorrect information recalled did not increase over the same period. Two different interviewing techniques were used--cued recall vs. 'enhanced' recall--the latter incorporating some aspects of the cognitive interview procedure. No differences were found relating to the interview techniques employed. The results underline the importance of recording initial interviews with child witnesses wherever possible.