1 Types of interview
While there have been a lot of technological advances in the area of criminal justice, there is still a huge role for interviewing in establishing ‘what happened’ in criminal offences.
Crimes are often solved by gathering information from several human sources, as well as using forensic evidence, CCTV and other sources of evidence. Suspect interviews allow a useful and flexible way of obtaining information that enables the police to establish whether or not someone is likely to have been involved with a crime.
In a police interview, information must be obtained professionally in ways that can be used in court, otherwise the investigation will potentially be compromised. Good quality investigative interviews allow investigators to gather relevant material which can either support the prosecution or ensure that an innocent person is not tried for a crime that they did not commit (College of Policing, 2023). The need to adhere to evidence obtained in legally permissible ways is part of the reason why police suspect interviews are such a challenge to carry out, and there are many regulations that the police must abide by to ensure that the evidence can be used, and is obtained both ethically and fairly. Of course, in different legal systems, the rules differ regarding what is acceptable for the evidence to be used in court. For example, the legal rules of how interviews must be carried out are quite different in the UK and in the USA.
Because the investigation we are following regarding the murder of Leonard Anderson is in England, we will continue using the legal systems of England and Wales for this investigation. However, you should bear in mind that if you are a learner studying this course in a different jurisdiction, different rules might apply.