Saktaganova Indira
Sovetovna
Associate Professor, Candidate of Law
Eurasian National University of L.N. Gumilyov, Astana,
Kazakhstan aridnis@mail.ru
Saktaganova
Akmaral Bakytovna
2 year
Master’s Degree student of Scientific and Academic program of
The
Faculty of Law of the Eurasian National University after Gumilev L.N., Astana, Kazakhstan
Sakenov Sagidolla Yersainovich
The 3rd
year student of the specialty jurisprudence of the Eurasian national university
Named after L.N. Gumilev, Astana, Kazakhstan
Yergarina Gulsezim Amangeldykyzy
The 3rd
year student of the specialty jurisprudence of the Eurasian national university
Named after L.N. Gumilev, Astana, Kazakhstan
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF INTERROGATION OF WITNESSES AND VICTIMS
Psychology of interrogation of witnesses
and victims has long been given considerable attention in criminological
literature. Such an interest was primarily due to the fact that witnesses and
victims are essential evidence in criminal cases.
Psychological aspects of preparation for the interrogation of witnesses and
victims consist of the following components: 1) analysis of the case materials
and the range of issues which need to be clarified; 2) examination the identity
of the interrogators; 3) provision of necessary conditions for the successful
interrogation; 4) the behavior of the investigator [1].
No matter how simple it may seem at first
glance, the upcoming interrogation of a witness or a victim still requires
serious and careful preparation. The basis of the interrogation is the plan. It
defines the range of issues which content and sequence is to be determined.
Before examination, it is necessary to study the case, analyze the evidence
related to the matters to be established during the interrogation of the
witness and the victim. If the investigator is poorly prepared for the
interrogation, they are almost certain to be insecure and not motivated. The
lack of preparation of the investigator is unlikely to remain unnoticed by the
interviewee. It will boost the witness’s anxiety and complicate the process of their
recollection of the necessary information. Generally, it affects the results of
the interrogation adversely. However, lack of training of the investigator can
potentially strengthen the position of the witnesses, giving false testimony.
The identity of witnesses and victims is
to be examined long before the interrogation. This includes biographical
information, e.g. profession, education, working conditions, lifestyle, level
of development, interests, the most significant personal psychological
qualities, perception of the crime, attitude towards the criminal act and a
criminal, etc.
The investigator collects the information
about the appearance of a witness/victim, their culture, manner of speech,
facial expressions, gestures, the observed psycho-physiological reactions and
conditions (confusion, excitement, fear, calmness, indifference, hostility,
etc.) through observation in direct contact prior to the official part of the
interrogation . The abovementioned signifies the desire to assist the
investigation or, on the contrary, desire to limit the intake of the essential information.
Information about the identity of the witness or the victim will provide the
investigator will aid in establishing psychological contact with the former and
the most rational tactics for the interrogation[2].
The specific time and method of calling of
witnesses and victims, the situation and place of the investigative actions are
of psychological importance. As a rule, witnesses and victims should be
interviewed as soon as possible. However, there are exceptions. If the victim,
and sometimes the witnesses are in a state of anxiety, tension, confusion upon
the criminal act, questioning should be deferred to a later date.
When investigating cases of aggravated
assault, robbery, terrorism, rape, re-interview victims and witnesses is needed
after urgent interrogation.
Psychological phenomenon of reminiscence,
improving repeated playback, needs to be taken into account. After occurrence
of associative relations in the process of the initial interrogation, an
arbitrary process of recollection of important facts, circumstances relating to
the crime and the offender can continue.
From a psychological perspective, while defining
the time of calling a witness or a victim, one should accommodate the interests
and the capabilities of the interrogated. Call should not cause the interviewee
unnecessary trouble and unpleasant experiences that can complicate relations
with the investigator. It is recommended setting convenient time to avoid a
long wait at the reception, transferring the interrogation for another time,
etc. It is necessary to interrogate a witness or a victim after office hours,
and students before or after class[3].
If the statements are important for the
case, phone interviews are to be conducted. A phone call can establish a
psychological contact and ease unnecessary anxiety, preventing the recollection
of necessary facts. Calling by phone may
conceal the fact the interrogation of a witness or a victim from law
enforcement bodies, relatives, neighbors, strangers. Subpoenas can be sent to home
address of victims or witnesses, necessarily in a sealed envelope to prevent
their disclosure by the unauthorized.
It is important to consider the place of
interrogation of the witness or the victim. Although this issue has been
resolved by the law, which states that a witness may be questioned at the place
of production of the investigation, it needs to be differentiated. For example,
if witnesses or victims forget important circumstances of a crime, its
mechanism, sequence or specific details, there will be a reason to question
them at the scene. Also when premature disclosure of the interrogation is
undesirable, it is justified to conduct the interrogation in a public point of
order for tactical reasons. The moral and ethical aspects are to be taken into
consideration when selecting the place of questioning. It is not recommended to
call the elderly and patients for the investigation. In this case, the
investigator needs to visit these individuals and question them. If this is not
possible, it is necessary to send a separate instruction to the appropriate
investigator or inquiry a relevant official body about the questioning of that
person's place of residence. If in special conditions, the victim or witness is
to be interrogated with the permission from the doctor and in the place of
their location.
The success of the interrogation depends
on its implementation. The rule of law stipulates that "the witnesses
summoned on the same case shall be interrogated separately and in the absence
of other witnesses, the investigator shall take measures to ensure that the
witnesses of the same case could not communicate with each other" (article
370 of the criminal procedure code of the Republic Of Kazakhstan)[3]. The most
important psychological rule is face-to-face questioning without the
unauthorized. The interrogation of witnesses and victims usually takes place in
the private office of the investigator. Establishment of trust depends on the
interior, simplicity, and style of the office. It is important that nothing
distracts the attention of the investigator, the victim or the witness throughout
the interrogation, such as phone calls or conversations with office
employees[4].
The interrogation is a long, meaningful,
and direct contact of the investigator with the interrogated. It is a dialogue
for the search of the truth. Two different worldviews, two wills, conflicts of interests
can be encountered during the interrogation. The fate of the interviewee and
the lives of others may be at stake. Scientific knowledge in the field of
psychology and interrogation tactics and skill are needed to mater the skills
of a productive dialogue. Therefore, the result of the interrogation will
largely depend on personal qualities and professional psychological qualities
of the investigator. Principled, fair, honest, friendly interrogator provokes a
respectful attitude, the desire to give truthful testimony to help the
investigation.
The effectiveness of the interrogation can
also rest upon socio-psychological qualities of the investigator, such as,
self-control, emotional stability, life experience, professional knowledge,
ability to conduct the interrogation in a logical and proper manner. One of the
major objectives of the investigator is to find the right individual-psychological
approach to the interviewee. This approach will take into account age, gender,
education, profession, life experience of the interviewee, the level of
culture, interests, beliefs, mental states experienced at the time of
examination.
External communicative qualities of the
investigator are appearance, physical characteristics, demeanor, clothing
style, etc. Smartness, neatness, simplicity, sociability, modest business style
clothes, attention, kindness contribute to establishment of trust and
willingness to communicate.
The psychological state of a witness
called in for questioning is to be taken into account because for most people
the challenge to the investigator is an unusual event, causing anxiety and
confusion.
An obstacle to establishing a proper
psychological environment of the interrogation may be individual psychological
qualities of the investigator, in particular, distrust, isolation, excessive
shyness, unsociability.
In all cases, the interrogation must be
preceded by the conversation between the investigator and the witness. Consideration
of witness’ views, interests, moods, psychological peculiarities helps to
relieve mental stress, eliminate mistrust, and promote willingness to give
truthful testimony.
More psychological preparation is required
when interrogating of the victims.
However, it should be noted that in order
to avoid errors in the testimony of the victims it is important to take into
account the peculiarities of their perception of the crime, the circumstances of
the case, and the offender. It has been proven that feelings of fear, anger,
shame, resentment, etc. can contribute to the distortion of perception,
narrowing its scope and leading to incorrect assessment of facts, signs,
parts[3].
Ways of establishing psychological contact
are numerous and varied. Their choice depends on the current investigation of
the situation, personal characteristics, psychological state of the interviewee
and the investigator. Psychological contact can be established by influencing socio-psychological
qualities of victims or witnesses. The investigator might achieve psychological
contact, boosting confidence and establishing trust, considering the interest
of victims.
While explaining to the witness or the
victim the purpose, the investigator should allow free flow of speech to avoid impactful
leading of the interrogated. Respect and trust should be mandatory from the
investigator. Rudeness, distrust, carelessness, haste, are unacceptable.
During a free story or after it, if the investigator
sees considerable deviation from the circumstances of the case, follow-up
questions can be asked. The investigator must control their intonation, facial
expressions and gestures, as they can have an impact. Discovering the motives
of the false testimony, the investigator should try to convince the victim or the
witness in the need to change their position.
Completeness and quality of perception of
events depend on a combination of objective and subjective factors. The former
includes factors that do not depend on the victims or witnesses themselves and
their senses. Most often it is the conditions of perception, the particular
nature of the perceived event. So, the distance from the event to the location
of the witness or the victim is of great importance. The objective factors that
can improve or worsen the perception can be attributed to the time of day,
nature of light, duration of event, weather conditions (snowfall, dense fog,
clear weather, etc.). Subjective factors include various kinds of defects in the
sensory apparatus of victims or witnesses, their personality, favorable or
unfavorable psycho-physiological state. For example, the witness with poor
eyesight could not see the appearance of the offender, the number of cars;
intoxication of the victim does not allow them to perceive the occurrence of
the crime, etc.
Completeness and accuracy of perception is
of great importance for the correct understanding of the nature of the events.
So if the witness or the victim does not realize that the perceived event is of
a criminal nature, their perception will often be incomplete. They may not pay
attention to many essential details of the event, the identity of the offender.
In those cases when they realize that there is a criminal event, their perception
is more complete, focused; they tend to remember details that ultimately ensure
the accuracy of the interrogation[5].
In the investigation of crimes, it is
necessary to establish the exact time of the perceived events. In particular,
it allows determining the time of the crime, the time spent by the suspect in a
certain place, others significant to the case circumstances. In the
investigation of crimes, which are characterized by the transience of the
criminal event and the duration of perception, the largest possible number of
witnesses or victims should be established. The investigator should carefully
match them with evidence collected on the case. The investigator can assist the
interrogated in recalling time of the event. This may be achieved by
timekeeping. As a point of reference, any memorable event with known timeframe
for the victim is elected. Then the investigator invites the interrogated to recollect
the sequence and duration of their action, thereby establishing a
chronometrical picture prior to the events relevant for the case.
The circumstances under which the
witnesses or the victims experienced the criminal act are relevant to the case.
Such conditions include hearing of the person, nature and power of sound, the
distance at which sound is perceived; the objective circumstances affecting
audibility (rain, fog, snowfall, force and direction of wind, terrain, presence
of obstacles to the passage of sound, etc.); psycho-physiological state of the
witness, the victim at the moment of perception (anxiety, fear, concentration,
distracted attention, alcohol)[2].
To illustrate, a dead milkmaid was found
in the bush at the center of large collective farm fields. The offender struck
the milkmaid a number of times. Apparently, the victim resisted the offender
and called for help. However, the farmers working in the field at a distance of
just one mile away testified that they heard no screams. The investigator
suggested that the victim's scream drowned out in the noise of the harvesters
(farmers worked near them). In addition, the local meteorological station reported
a strong wind in the direction of the village on the day of the murder. The
investigator continued to search for witnesses among the people who were on the
outskirts of the village in the time of the murder. The investigator identified
two witnesses whose testimony helped to establish the exact time of the murder;
consequently, the identity of the killer.
Rarely, the investigator encounters the case
when the witnesses attempt to falsify or avoid testimony. In such a situation
we must first identify the reasons for the positions taken (greed, hostility,
dependence, etc.). After that, the investigator employs the methods of
explanation, persuasion, appealing to the witness’ sense of civic duty,
conscience, etc., to neutralize the motives that prevent giving truthful
testimony. During the final part, the investigator uses various means
(manuscript, typescript, tape recording) to record the result of interrogation.
The interrogated is further presented with the written protocol to ensure its
correctness [4].
In the course of interrogation between the
investigator and the interviewee, there is an exchange of two aspects of
information which are: the verbal exchange of information between the
interrogated and the interrogator; and the status information from the interrogated
and the direction of their thoughts by observing their behavior (gestures,
facial expressions, color of skin, etc.).
The interrogator should carefully observe
the interrogated to establish their status. It is determined by their
appearance, behavior, response to transmitted information, speech (tempo,
coherence, repetition, trevitest, etc.). For example, unexpected pausation,
changes of speed and rhythm of speech, loss of breaks, uncontrolled laughter,
rapid breathing and constant interruption of others are considered as symptoms
of stress[5].
Interrogation of victims and witnesses
requires in-depth study of their personality, their mental state, allowing
educational impact to prevent them from anti-social attitudes, private-property
psychology, a parasitic way of life, greed, cruelty, cowardice, and violation
of the rules of morality. These socio-psychological aberrations promote commission
of crime.
LIST
OF SOURCES USED:
1. Chufarovskiy Y. V. Psychology of
operative-search and investigative activities: training manual. M., 2006.
2. A. G. Filippov, V. V. Agafonov, A. V.
Gordeyev, F. A. G. Forensics: lecture notes. M., 2009.
3. The Criminal Procedure Code of the
Republic of Kazakhstan. The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated 4 July
2014 No. 231-V SAM.
4. Charles Mackay. Extraordinary popular
delusions and the madness of crowds. M., 2003.
5. Sigmund Freud. Massive psychology and human
analysis "I". M., 1951.