TY - JOUR
T1 - Protecting human rights in Australian investigative interviews
T2 - The role of recording and interview duration limits
AU - Sivasubramaniam, Diane
AU - Goodman-Delahunty, Jane
AU - Martin, Melissa
AU - Fraser, Martin
N1 - Includes bibliographical references.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The way in which interviewers balance human rights concerns in Australian investigative and intelligence interviews was examined by documenting common practices and beliefs reported by 139 seasoned practitioners (M = 16 years) employed in Australian police, military and intelligence organisations. An online survey gathered information about interviewers’ perceptions of recording practices, the duration of interviews and the number of times persons were interviewed for each matter. The majority of the participants (73%) were New South Wales Police Force interviewers. While results revealed some variability, interviewers reported that most interviews were conducted in two or three separate questioning sessions lasting approximately one hour each. Frequency analyses showed that interviewers favoured strategies protective of detainees’ human rights, such as video recording of interviews. Interviewers’ open-ended responses revealed that they supported recording because it yielded more accurate information, promoted procedural fairness and transparency in compliance with legal evidentiary requirements for admissibility in court, and protected interviewer integrity. Participants reported that video recording had the added advantage of preserving interviewees’ body language, tone of voice and other perceived indicators of credibility. The majority of interviews were reported to be within length requirements and recorded as required, indicating compliance with human rights concerns of suspects and non-suspects.
AB - The way in which interviewers balance human rights concerns in Australian investigative and intelligence interviews was examined by documenting common practices and beliefs reported by 139 seasoned practitioners (M = 16 years) employed in Australian police, military and intelligence organisations. An online survey gathered information about interviewers’ perceptions of recording practices, the duration of interviews and the number of times persons were interviewed for each matter. The majority of the participants (73%) were New South Wales Police Force interviewers. While results revealed some variability, interviewers reported that most interviews were conducted in two or three separate questioning sessions lasting approximately one hour each. Frequency analyses showed that interviewers favoured strategies protective of detainees’ human rights, such as video recording of interviews. Interviewers’ open-ended responses revealed that they supported recording because it yielded more accurate information, promoted procedural fairness and transparency in compliance with legal evidentiary requirements for admissibility in court, and protected interviewer integrity. Participants reported that video recording had the added advantage of preserving interviewees’ body language, tone of voice and other perceived indicators of credibility. The majority of interviews were reported to be within length requirements and recorded as required, indicating compliance with human rights concerns of suspects and non-suspects.
KW - Criminal investigation
KW - HUMINT
KW - Intelligence gathering
KW - Interviewing
KW - Police
KW - Recording
U2 - 10.1080/1323-238X.2014.11882152
DO - 10.1080/1323-238X.2014.11882152
M3 - Article
VL - 20
SP - 107
EP - 132
JO - Australian Journal of Human Rights
JF - Australian Journal of Human Rights
SN - 1323-238X
IS - 2
ER -