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Questioning minors in relation to criminal acts is not an easy task. Interviewers must consider certain things to ensure the effectiveness of the process. In the case of Jacob, it is clear that the detective committed several mistakes, which need to be improved and corrected.
One of the major mistakes in the scenario is the detective’s use of leading questions. For instance, the detective asks “Why did you take the garment?” This suggests that the detective already believes that Jacob did commit the crime without hearing his story first. According to Underwager and Wakefield (1995), leading questions “can influence the child and distort the story” which is why it must be avoided. Because of the types of questions that the detective asks, there is no doubt that Jacob feels scared and pressured to answer. It is possible that during the time of the interview, Jacob’s nonverbal behavior shows what he is feeling. His voice is possibly trembling due to nervousness, and he must have find it hard to look at the detective in the eyes as they talk. Furthermore, Jacob is being questioned at the presence of his parents. According to Hess, Orthmann, and Cho (2015), “often juveniles will not feel comfortable being honest if their parents are present.” It is possible that Jacob feels the same way, so it might have been a good idea to interview him separately from his parents.
If I am the detective, I will ask open-ended questions. Garbarino reports that based on research, open-ended questions allow children and minors to provide more accurate information during interview (as cited in Vasquez, 2000). Some of the questions that I plan to ask Jacob are the following: What are you doing at the department store? What happened at the department store? Why do you think the security detained you? I will also be interviewing Jacob on a private room, separately from his parents so that he will not be conscious about the presence of his family. However, I will videotape the interview so that the parents would be able to witness and hear Jacob’s response. This will also serve as an evidence in case Jacob decides to confess his criminal act.
References
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C.H., & Cho, H. L. (2015). Criminal investigation (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Underwager, R. & Wakefield, H. (1995). Psychological evaluations you need for trial: What they can and cannot do. Issues in Child Abuse Accusations, 7 (1), 30-52.
Vasquez, R. (2000). Interviewing children. Hunter College. Retrieved from http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/socwork/nrcfcpp/downloads/Interviewing_Children_0508.pdf
