Trauma-exposed young victims: possibilities and constraints for providing trauma support within the investigative interview

Establishing and Maintaining Rapport in Investigative Interviews of Traumatized Victims: A Qualitative Study

“…To further the interviewees' experience of trust and safety and, thus, facilitate rapport, the participants described the importance of continually showing understanding for and adapting to the expressions of the interviewee. This corresponds with other research on the Utøya investigative interviews which described different ways the police interviewers showed support to the victims during the interview (Jakobsen et al, 2016), and, how factors like empathic police officers and being able to provide a coherent narrative contributed to a positive interview experience (Langballe & Schultz, 2017). Even though empathy has not been clearly defined in investigative interviewing (Oxburgh & Ost, 2011), which makes it challenging to know when it is occurring, it is still considered important for the development of rapport (Dando & Oxburgh, 2016;Holmberg, 2004a;Madsen & Holmberg, 2015;Vanderhallen & Vervaeke, 2014).…”

“…This creates a challenging situation for the police interviewer who must accommodate and adapt to the state of the interviewee in order to facilitate rapport and achieve investigative aims. For instance, the police's requirement for detailed information after the event may conflict with the kind of support traumatized persons need in the time following an incident (Jakobsen, Langballe, & Schultz, 2016). Additionally, interviewing traumatized interviewees can also be emotionally demanding for the police interviewer and, thus, represent a potential strain to his/her health and well-being (Bakker & Heuven, 2006).…”

Emotional Intelligence in Police Interviews—Approach, Training and the Usefulness of the Concept

“…A few studies have also shed light on the police interviews in this case (Dyb et al, 2014;Glad et al, 2012;Langballe & Schultz, 2017), primarily looking into the experiences of the survivors. The current research, together with the recently published work of Jakobsen et al (2016), exploring the perspective of the police interviewer, provides another view on these interviews.…”

“…To undergo an investigative interview after surviving such a horrific incident as Utøya represe detailed information after the event may conflict with the kind of support traumatized persons need in the time following an incident (Jakobsen, Langballe, & Schultz, 2016). Research has shown how exposure to mass violence in particular is likely to (Norris et al, 2002), and it is to be expected that this would be the case for the survivors of Utøya.…”

“…In a recent study by Jakobsen et al (2016), the authors examined the potential conflict between objectivity and the police interviewer being an information-gatherer within their legal framework, and providing trauma support. They examined 19 videotaped investigative interviews from the Utøya case and interviewed 17 investigators who constraints for providing trauma support during the investigative interview process.…”