Crisis Intervention

Interviewing victims in the aftermath of a crisis

Danielle Kelley, MSW2006

Purpose

• The three major aspects of criminal investigation are (1) to identify the criminal, (2) to locate and apprehend him (3) and to prove his guilt in the court. During the course of investigation an investigator depends on three major tools available to him which are instrumentation, information and, interview and interrogation.

Objective

Catch the Criminal

instrumentation informationInterview

interrogation

Objective:Psychological First Aid

Re-establish Coping

Providingsupport

Reducelethality

Provide Linkage

To resources

Purposeful Interviewing

Interview

Victim identification

Risk Assessment

Evidence Gathering

Outcome Determinatio

n

The thousands of criminals I have seen in 40 years of law enforcement have had one thing in common: Every single one was a liar. J. Edgar Hoover

Interview Methods

Behavioral

Kinesic

Reid TechniqueCognitive

Forensic

“Discovering witnesses is just as important as catching criminals.” Simon Wiesenthal

Contract for Action

• The difference between interview and interrogation is that an interview is conducted in a cordial atmosphere where a witness is more comfortable physically and psychologically. On the other hand, whenever a person is questioned in an uncomfortable atmosphere (interrogation room) where he is under the psychological pressure, it is an interrogation.

The Response Phase

AlarmMobilizationResponseLetdown

Reintegration

Police are actively dealing with the crisis.

Neurobiological Influences

CortisolStress

hormone

Anxiety

Rapid heart rate

Short Attention

span

Selfdestructive

The body’s reaction to stress- flight or fight.

Neurobiological Influences

Females

• Oxytocin secreted in females makes women calmer• Oxytocin is a hormone.

Adrenal Glands

• Senses keener• Memory sharper• Less sensitive to pain

serotonin

• Increases depression• Makes person high risk for suicide

Challenge to Successful Interview?

• Our brain determines our behavior and our responses!

Challenges to a Successful Interview

Neurobiological Influences

Critical Incident Stressors

Stress Vulnerability

Response Phase Challenges

• Exposure to danger• Personal/ team

CriticalIncidentStressor

• Effective action limited

• Poor internal coping

StressVulnerability