Examining the efficacy of a self-administered report form in missing person investigations

IF 2.2 2区社会学 Q1 CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY

Legal and Criminological Psychology Pub Date : 2020-01-14 DOI:10.1111/lcrp.12163

Fiona Gabbert, Donata Tamonyte, Joe Apps, Alessandra Caso, Penny Woolnough, Lorraine Hope, Megan Handscomb, Georgina Waterworth

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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Purpose

The success of missing person investigations often centres on the quality of information obtained in the early stages. Reliable information can not only inform the search but might also become vital evidence if the case broadens into a criminal investigation relating to a sexual offence, abduction, or even murder. In addition to eliciting high-quality information, police officers must consider that those close to the missing person are likely going through a very difficult and stressful time. Across two studies, we developed and tested a self-administered form (SAI-MISSING) designed to obtain reliable information that would meaningfully inform a missing person investigation, as well as providing a means for family and friends to be actively involved.

Methods

In Experiment 1, 65 participants were tested individually and asked to provide a description of a person they knew well but had not seen for 24 hr. In the second study, 64 participants were tested in pairs, but immediately separated into different rooms and instructed to imagine that the person they came with has gone missing. In both studies, participants completed either the SAI-MISSING tool, or a self-administered control form.

Results

In Experiment 1, we found that the SAI-MISSING tool elicited significantly more information regarding physical descriptions and descriptions of clothing and personal effects, than the comparison control form. In Experiment 2, we replicated this finding and further showed that the SAI-MISSING tool produced higher accuracy rates than the control form.

Conclusions

Given the positive outcomes, potential applications of the tool are discussed.

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检查自我管理报告表在失踪人员调查中的有效性

目的:失踪人员调查的成功往往取决于在早期阶段获得的资料的质量。可靠的信息不仅可以为搜查提供信息，而且如果案件扩大到涉及性犯罪、绑架甚至谋杀的刑事调查，也可能成为至关重要的证据。除了获取高质量的信息外，警察还必须考虑到那些与失踪者关系密切的人可能正在经历一段非常困难和紧张的时期。在两项研究中，我们开发并测试了一种自我管理的表格(SAI-MISSING)，旨在获得可靠的信息，为失踪人员调查提供有意义的信息，并为家人和朋友积极参与提供了一种手段。方法:在实验1中，65名参与者被单独测试，并被要求描述一个他们很熟悉但24小时没有见过的人。在第二项研究中，64名参与者被分成两组进行测试，但立即被分到不同的房间，并被要求想象和他们一起来的人失踪了。在这两项研究中，参与者完成了SAI-MISSING工具或自我管理控制表格。结果:在实验1中，我们发现SAI-MISSING工具比比较控制表格更能引出关于身体描述和服装和个人物品描述的信息。在实验2中，我们重复了这一发现，并进一步表明SAI-MISSING工具比对照表单产生更高的准确率。结论:鉴于积极的结果，讨论了该工具的潜在应用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Legal and Criminological Psychology Multiple-

CiteScore

4.00

自引率

4.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： Legal and Criminological Psychology publishes original papers in all areas of psychology and law: - victimology - policing and crime detection - crime prevention - management of offenders - mental health and the law - public attitudes to law - role of the expert witness - impact of law on behaviour - interviewing and eyewitness testimony - jury decision making - deception The journal publishes papers which advance professional and scientific knowledge defined broadly as the application of psychology to law and interdisciplinary enquiry in legal and psychological fields.