The application of cognitive interviews to financial crimes
| Date | 02 July 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-09-2017-0084 |
| Pages | 882-890 |
| Published date | 02 July 2018 |
| Author | Mark Eshwar Lokanan |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
The application of cognitive
interviews to financial crimes
Mark Eshwar Lokanan
Faculty of Management, Royal Roads University, Victoria, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper isto present an argument for the use of cognitive interviews to be
use in financial crime investigations. In particular, the paper argues that the components of cognitive
interview make it useful for financial crime investigators to gather and collate information on financial
criminality.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper chronicles the literature on cognitive interviews to
criticallyevaluate its usefulness in previous studies.
Findings –A critical examination of the literatureshows that cognitive interviews were successfully used
in a variety of circumstances. Despite its difficulties,the empirical evidence reveals that cognitive interview
fared well in laboratorystudies across different (and vulnerable) populationgroups.
Practical implications –There is evidence to suggest that cognitive interviews can be an effective
technique to interviewwitnesses of financial crimes. The fact that white-collar criminals,more often than not,
comes from a “gentleman background”and are not accustomed to the role of “criminal suspect,”makes
cognitiveinterview techniques a useful tool for fraud investigators.
Originality/value –To the author’s knowledge, this is the first paperof its kind to conduct a thorough
literaturereview and apply cognitive interview techniquesto financial crime investigation.
Keyword Financial crimes
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Over the past decade, cognitive interviews (CI) have gained increased attention by
scholars that seek to understand the reliability and accuracy of its application (Dando
et al., 2011a;Maras and Bowler, 2012;Sharman and Powell, 2013;Snook and Keating,
2010). Originally introduced in the 1980s by Geiselman et al. (1984), CIs have undergone
major adjustments (Fisher and Geiselman, 1992) and are now widely used in shaping
investigative interviewing in countries such as England and Wales, Australia, Canada
and the USA (USAA) (Dando et al.,2009). In brief, CIs are based on the “psychological
principles of remembering and retrieval of information from memory”(Stein and
Memon, 2006, p. 597). The CIs approach consists of four mnemonic components
[reconstruct the event(s), report everything, recall in a change of temporal order (CTO)
and change perspective (CP)], in addition to several techniques “aimed at optimizing
boththeretrievalprocessandthesocialand communication aspects of an investigative
interview”(Dando et al., 2011a, p. 492). They all combine to assist investigators in
obtaining specific information about a crime.
The objective of this paper is to present an argument for CIs as a useful technique for
investigators to use to obtain information from financial criminals[1]. In particular, the
paper argues that CIs are applicable and canbe successfully used to interview witnesses of
financial crimes. To shed light on these issues, the paper first examines the theories
underpinning investigative interviewing, followed by a critical evaluation of the extant
JFC
25,3
882
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.25 No. 3, 2018
pp. 882-890
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-09-2017-0084
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