Train‐the‐trainer: Methodology to learn the cognitive interview

Abstract

Research has indicated that police may not receive enough training in interviewing cooperative witnesses, specifically in use of the cognitive interview (CI). Practically, for the CI to be effective in real‐world investigations, police investigators must be trained by law enforcement trainers. We conducted a three‐phase experiment to examine the feasibility of training experienced law enforcement trainers who would then train others to conduct the CI. We instructed Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement trainers about the CI (Phase I); law enforcement trainers from both agencies (n = 4, 100% male, mean age = 50 years) instructed university students (n = 25, 59% female, mean age = 21 years) to conduct either the CI or a standard law enforcement interview (Phase II); the student interviewers then interviewed other student witnesses (n = 50, 73% female, mean age = 22 years), who had watched a simulated crime (phase III). Compared with standard training, interviews conducted by those trained by CI‐trained instructors contained more information and at a higher accuracy rate and with fewer suggestive questions.

The Forensic and Clinical Relevance of Evidence-Based Investigative Interview Methods in Historical Sexual Abuse Cases

“…By mentally recreating the external and internal contexts of the experienced event, interviewees themselves generate cues that allow them to better access the mental record of the event (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992, 2017). Using such CI components could (a) foster the retrieval and report of critical information (e.g., genital contact), (b) limit the use of closed and/or suggestive questions by interviewers (see Molinaro, Fisher, Mosser, & Satin, 2019), and (c) therefore reduce the risk of misinformation acceptance.…”

Nonverbal cues to deception in Title IX investigations.

“…Similarly, liars are more likely to provide unverifiable facts, whereas truth-tellers are more likely to provide verifiable facts . Meissner and Lyles (2019) (Molinaro, Fisher, Mosser, & Satin, 2019) and credibility assessment (Vrij, Mann, Leal, Vernham, & Vaughan, 2016).…”

“…The most practical solution is a train-the-trainer model whereby academic researchers, perhaps in concert with skilled, experienced investigators, develop training programs for Title IX investigative trainers, who can then pass along the message to the field investigators. Such a train-the-trainer model has been used successfully to train law enforcement investigators in the Cognitive Interview (Molinaro, Fisher, Mosser, & Satin, 2019) and credibility assessment (Vrij, Mann, Leal, Vernham, & Vaughan, 2016).…”

Evaluating the effectiveness of a 5-day training on science-based methods of interrogation with U.S. federal, state, and local law enforcement investigators.

“…For example, researchers have partnered with U.S. government training facilities, such as the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), to assess the effectiveness of the CI (Rivard et al, 2014), cognitive lie detection tools (Vrij et al, 2015), and the strategic use of evidence method (Luke et al, 2016) as compared to standard interview techniques trained at such facilities. The HIG has also assessed the effectiveness of training on specific science-based methods such as rapport-based tactics (Brimbal et al, 2021), strategic questioning approaches to detecting deception (Vrij et al, 2016), and the CI (Molinaro et al, 2019). This translational approach to research on interviewing, interrogation, and credibility assessment has contributed to the development and dissemination of science-based methods that have the potential to improve the effectiveness of both criminal and intelligence interviewing (see Brandon & Meissner, 2023, for an overview of the history of the HIG research program).…”