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The Investigation and Investigative Interviewing of Benefit Fraud Suspects in the UK: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

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Applied Issues in Investigative Interviewing, Eyewitness Memory, and Credibility Assessment

Abstract

Investigative interviewing in England and Wales has undergone transformation over the last 20 years or so as a result of (1) interviewers being trained in an interviewing framework; (2) the effects of legislation; and (3) the mandatory recording of interviews with all suspects (and those witnesses defined as vulnerable). Interviews that have been audio or video recorded have sometimes allowed the opportunity for later examination by either investigation professionals (e.g., senior officers) or researchers. As such, the number of studies of actual interviewing performance has grown. Almost all of these studies have examined the professional practice of police officers (e.g., Baldwin, 1993; Clarke & Milne, 2001; Griffiths & Milne, 2006; Moston, Stephenson, & Williamson, 1992; Oxburgh, Williamson, & Ost, 2006; Soukara, Bull, Vrij, Turner, & Cherryman, 2009). This is, perhaps, understandable since the police deal with most (and most serious) crimes. However, this approach has led to a gap in the knowledge of what happens in the growing number of interviews conducted by government agencies around the world that are also responsible for detecting and prosecuting criminal activity within their particular jurisdictions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Derby, Derby, UK

    Dave Walsh

  2. University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

    Ray Bull

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  1. The Forensic Alliance, Main Street, Suite #503 2818, Vancouver, V5T 0C1, British Columbia, Canada

    Barry S. Cooper

  2. Gerichts- und Rechtspsychologie, Gesellschaft für Wissenschaftliche, Rablstraße 45, München, 81669, Germany

    Dorothee Griesel

  3. , Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, West Mall 2329, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, British Columbia, Canada

    Marguerite Ternes

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Walsh, D., Bull, R. (2013). The Investigation and Investigative Interviewing of Benefit Fraud Suspects in the UK: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. In: Cooper, B., Griesel, D., Ternes, M. (eds) Applied Issues in Investigative Interviewing, Eyewitness Memory, and Credibility Assessment. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5547-9_3

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