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Police Interviewing Behaviors and Commercially Sexually Exploited Adolescents' Reluctance
Agnieszka M Nogalska1, Hayden M Henderson1, Scarlet J Cho1
1University of Southern California.
Summary
Law enforcement interviewing tactics like maximization and support were linked to increased reluctance in commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC). Open-ended questions also correlated with greater CSEC reluctance during police interviews.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Forensic Interviewing
- Criminology
Background:
- Limited understanding exists regarding the impact of law enforcement interviewing techniques on the reluctance of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC).
- Assessing interviewer behavior and interviewee reluctance is crucial for effective child protection and justice.
- Previous research has not adequately explored specific tactics used by officers during interviews with CSEC victims.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between specific law enforcement interviewing behaviors and the reluctance of adolescent CSEC victims.
- To identify which interviewing tactics, if any, are associated with increased reluctance in child victims.
- To provide insights into optimizing interview strategies for CSEC investigations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of a sample of 2,416 question-answer pairs from ten police interviews with CSEC victims.
- Coding of officer utterances for the presence of interviewing tactics: maximization, expertise, minimization, and support.
- Statistical correlation of specific interviewing tactics and question types with measures of victim reluctance.
Main Results:
- Maximization tactics were significantly correlated with increased CSEC victim reluctance.
- Contrary to hypotheses, the use of supportive statements was also associated with greater reluctance.
- Open-ended (recall) questions and statements were linked to higher levels of reluctance compared to closed-ended (recognition) questions.
Conclusions:
- The findings underscore that certain interviewing strategies, including maximization and even support, can inadvertently increase victim reluctance.
- The type of question asked (open-ended vs. closed-ended) significantly influences CSEC reluctance during interviews.
- A nuanced understanding of the context and specific interviewer behaviors is essential for improving interviewing practices with commercially sexually exploited children.
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