Effects of empathy and question types on suspects’ provision of information in investigative interviews
| Author | Bianca Baker-Eck,Ray Bull |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557221106073 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
Effects of empathy and question types
on suspects’provision of information
in investigative interviews
Bianca Baker-Eck
University of Derby, UK
Ray Bull
University of Derby, UK
Abstract
The current study examines the relationship between the extent of, and various types of, empathy and of questions on
suspects’provision of information in 16 real-life police interviews. Multiple linear regressions were conducted to: predict
suspects’information provision in relation to (a) open questions, (b) the extent of displayed empathy and (c) each of the
empathy types. Verbatim transcriptions of police interviews with suspects of sexual offences were coded for: (a) the
extent and types of interviewer empathy, (b) the proportionality of interviewer open versus closed questions, and
(c) suspects’information provision. It was found that the proportion of open (versus closed) questions and the amount
of empathy demonstrated by interviewers had a positive relationship with suspects’information provision. The latter sup-
ports a recent finding by the authors involving a different sample of police interviews. Whereas in a growing number of
countries the training of police interviewers has been emphasizing use of open questions, the current study aids weight to
the small amount of research literature on the importance of interviewer empathy. Indeed, the effectiveness of open
questions might be influenced by the amount of interviewer empathy in an interview.
Keywords
Investigative interviewing, suspects, empathy, question types, information provision
Submitted 2 Dec 2020, Revise received 11 Oct 2021, accepted 28 Apr 2022
A PEACE-ful method
Internationally, police interviews are integral aspects of
legal systems as they seek (at least in some countries) to
achieve a flow of information between interviewee and
interviewer to gain an understanding regarding an alleged
crime rather than merely confessions. In some investiga-
tions and court cases other types of information/evidence
are hard to come by (such as alleged sexual assault cases
–where oftentimes the only sources of evidence are rele-
vant persons’accounts) and thus information provided
during interviews often carries considerable weight.
Therefore, it is important that the accounts gained are com-
prehensive. Research on gaining comprehensive accounts
(especially from suspects) largely commenced after the
development in the early 1990s of the ‘PEACE’method
of investigative interviewing that focuses on ethical techni-
ques. Although police in collaboration with psychologists
(Bull, 2019; Milne and Bull, 1999) in England and Wales
were the first to develop such an information-gaining
method, other countries have followed, for example
Scotland (PRICE-Model), Norway (KREATIV-Model)
Corresponding author:
Bianca Baker-Eck, University of Derby, Kedleston Road,
Derby DE22 1GB, UK.
Email: bianca.f.baker@googlemail.com
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2022, Vol. 24(4) 406–416
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557221106073
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