A new research project is to examine what
difference the use of telephone or video calls, as opposed to face to face
participation, has on the fairness and effectiveness of police interviews, carried
out with witnesses, victims and suspects of crime.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, there have
been major changes to the format of traditional police interviews and other
interactions, which were previously carried out in person and usually in a
police station.
Many police forces have instead turned
to digital communications, carrying out video interviews with victims, while
third party professionals such as lawyers have provided support to suspects by
phone or video, rather than in person in the police station.
However, there has been limited research
to date on the impact of this move to remote communication on witnesses, victims
and suspects, and on how best to conduct interviews in this way.
Now a team of academics, national and
international police organisations and criminal justice groups have been
awarded more than £320,000 to explore this issue in more detail over the next 18
months, in a project entitled Supporting the interviewing and legal
representation of crime victims and suspects using digital communications
methods: Is it ‘remotely’ possible?
Their findings will highlight the impact
of remote communication on the fairness and effectiveness of police interviews
during the current pandemic and inform lasting changes, both to the way police
undertake interviews and the legal system.
The project has been funded by the
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of the UK Research and
Innovation’s rapid response to Covid-19.
It will be led by Professor Gavin
Oxburgh and Dr Nicci Macleod of Northumbria University, working alongside
academics from De Montfort University, Sunderland University and the global
criminal justice watchdog Fair Trials.
The experiences of partner organisations
including the College of Policing, the National Police Chiefs Council, the Norwegian
Police University College, the International Criminal Court at The Hague, the Commission
for International Justice and Accountability, the National Appropriate Adults
Network and national UK police forces will also provide valuable insight for
the research team.
Speaking about the need for such research,
Professor Oxburgh said: “The criminal justice system has had to quickly adapt
during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure interviews, third party interactions and
criminal trials are still able to go ahead.
“Before the pandemic, video interviews
were really only used by a small number of international organisations, so
there is little evidence of how they might work on a large scale.
“By working with organisations who have previously
used this technology, as well as regional police forces which have adopted it
more recently during the pandemic, we will build up a picture of how effective remote/video
interviews can be and highlight any issues which need to be addressed, including
access to legal representation.”
Speaking about the importance of
ensuring remote interviews provide proper access to justice, Jago Russell,
Chief Executive of Fair Trails, said: “Access to an effective lawyer in the
police station is a crucial safeguard, protecting the rights of arrested people
at a time when they are isolated and vulnerable to abuse and coercion.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, most
lawyers have decided to stay away from police stations, preferring to advise
their clients by phone or video. We urgently need to understand what impact
this shift is having on suspects and on the fairness and reliability of the
evidence being given to police.”
The evidence collected during the
research will be used to draw up recommendations for any future proposed use of
remote interviews, including during future pandemic situations, ensuring
standardisation across the global policing and law enforcement community.
The project is one of four involving
Northumbria University academics which have recently been awarded funding
through the UKRI Covid-19 response fund.
Northumbria is consortium lead in three
of the projects, which are worth a total of £1.2m between them.
Professor George Marston, Pro
Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Northumbria, believes winning
the funding from UKRI reflects the growing strength and expertise of the
University’s research which has already contributed significantly to the
regional and national response to Covid-19.
He said: “Our world-leading research is
making a positive and lasting impact across society, economically, culturally
and through our work on health and wellbeing.
“We are helping businesses innovate and
grow, identifying and meeting future skill needs, and improving scenario
planning, problem solving and policy making - both in response to the pandemic
now and looking ahead to the future.
“There have been thousands of rapid
response bids to UKRI, so to be selected as the lead on three projects and a
co-investigator on another is a recognition of the quality of research at
Northumbria.”
