Assignment:
Victims’ Rights and the Dos and Don’ts of Interviewing Crime Victims
You are a police investigator in Centervale. Recently, there have been complaints from prosecutors, as well as several victims, about the interview techniques used by law enforcement (both first responders and investigators). The prosecution is losing cases because of inadmissible statements made to law enforcement by victims and witnesses in response to improper questioning. Because of their bad experiences early in the investigations, some victims refuse to come to court and testify. There are continuous complaints by victim services specialists that first responders do not provide victims with all their rights as governed by law.
The chief of police in Centervale is concerned about lawsuits and unsatisfied victims and asks you, one of the most experienced detectives of the Centervale Police Department, to attend patrol briefings and train officers in some dos and don'ts of interviewing victims of crime, especially women and children. You are also asked to go over some of the most important victims' rights that could cause the most legal trouble if not followed properly by the Centervale Police Department.
You realize that a proper interviewing lesson could take eight to sixteen hours, and you know law enforcement must strictly follow numerous victims' rights, but you have been given only fifteen to twenty minutes in which to teach, what you feel is the most important information.
Write in a minimum of 250 words and answer the following:
- Identify and describe the training information you feel would be most important, if you had only ten minutes to teach law enforcement officers about:
- Interviewing women and children
- Crime victims' rights
Give your reasoning for the training information that you identified as most important for both training programs.