Page 52 - When Things Go Wrong

3.15 The Achieving Best Evidence (ABE) framework, 137 used in police interviews
to allow vulnerable and intimidated witnesses to give their best evidence,
should inform the approach of a multi-agency interview.

3.16 One technique incorporated into the ABE framework is the cognitive
interview, 138 originally developed by psychologists in the United States at the
National Institute of Justice. The cognitive interview is designed to help a
witness unlock memories and recall detailed information. 139 It is conducted
through a set of structured steps (free recall; varied free recall; focussed
questions; review) with an emphasis on open questioning. By allowing the
witness to dictate the agenda within that structure, cognitive interviewing
provides a humane way of questioning, and tends to elicit fuller witness
statements covering a variety of angles. For bereaved people, survivors and
other witnesses who may be suffering from trauma, interviewers should
employ cognitive interviewing techniques to elicit the fullest possible
evidence in a single session.

3.17 Witnesses should be given the option of having their own lawyer present
during the interview, and of seeking legal advice before signing a draft witness
statement.

3.18 The ABE framework suggests that for “significant” or “key” witnesses, their
interviews should also be video recorded as this is likely to “increase the
amount and quality of information gained from the witness; and increase the
amount of information reported by the witness being recorded”. 140 Video
recording will not be appropriate in the context of a cognitive interview, as the
recording device may intrude upon, and interfere with, the free recall and
memory retrieval steps that form part of this interviewing technique. However,
for witnesses who have not suffered trauma, including experts and
eyewitnesses, interviews conducted during investigations should be video
recorded so that the recordings and transcripts can form part of the

137 Ministry of Justice, ‘Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings: Guidance on interviewing
victims and witnesses, and guidance on using special measures’, 2011.
138 Ibid, para 3.123.
139 See Geoff Coughlin, Unlocking Memories: Cognitive Interviewing for Lawyers (Ark Group 2015).

140 Ministry of Justice, supra note 137, paras 1.26-27.
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