How Tasmania Police Have Achieved Breakthroughs in Investigative Interviewing Training

摘要

Crime investigation has benefited from advancements in technology. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage along with comparisons of fingerprints, DNA and other chemical / biological evidence has provided police investigators with potentially verifiable means of linking or eliminating crime suspects (Horvath & Meesig, 1996). Advances in technology for identifying physical evidence, however, are no universal panacea. For many crime types, such as sexual assault, these technological advances offer limited assistance in determining what has actually occurred (Tarczon & Quadera, 2012) because there may be little physical evidence of the crime or the victim and alleged offender are already known to each other (Tarczon & Quadera, 2012). The majority of crimes investigated by police are solved through verbal evidence obtained in interviews (Goodman-Delahunty & Newell, 2004). Too much focus on technological advances can lead investigators to underestimate the positive results that can be achieved by utilising scientific advancements in investigative interviewing procedure (Moston, 2009). Tasmania Police has recently made great strides in the area of investigative interviewing training. This paper outlines the nature and structure of the recent reforms, the background context and the considerations that underpinned the changes.