2.2 The cognitive interview

Listen to Becky Milne, from the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth and a world-renowned expert on interviewing witnesses, describe the cognitive interview (CI).
Transcript
The CI contains four techniques for improving the information remembered by a witness:
- report everything
- reinstate context
- change order
- change perspective.
In addition, it is good interviewing practice to spend the initial part of the interview ‘establishing rapport’ with the witness and explaining the process. Likewise, a good interviewer will not rush a witness, nor interrupt them. They will also be sure to close the interview appropriately, providing the witness with a means of contacting them should they remember any additional information.