Are children reliable witnesses? / Ben F. Cotterill.
This book explores practices and influences that can increase or decrease the accuracy of childrens testimonies. If a child falls victim to a crime, or becomes witness to it, they may well be questioned by the police. Perhaps even tasked with selecting a suspect from a line-up. But how reliable can...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Ebook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cham, Switzerland :
Palgrave Macmillan,
[2022]
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Springer eBooks |
| Summary: | This book explores practices and influences that can increase or decrease the accuracy of childrens testimonies. If a child falls victim to a crime, or becomes witness to it, they may well be questioned by the police. Perhaps even tasked with selecting a suspect from a line-up. But how reliable can a child be under such strenuous circumstances? Memory mechanisms and general developmental factors behind the capability of child witnesses are outlined, demonstrating their ability to describe or identify. Factors that affect jurors' perception of said children are also looked into in detail. There have been many instances in which poor interviewing practices with children led to false imprisonments. Said occurrences demonstrate how both situational factors and individual differences can potentially compromise childrens eyewitness performance. Based upon what we now understand, can recommendations be made, so that, in a court of law, innocence is the key to achieving justice? Ben F. Cotterill is lecturer in psychology at Clemson University in South Carolina, USA. He completed his doctoral dissertation on how children's temperament relates to their eyewitness performance. Dr. Cotterill's research interests include personality development, the reliability and credibility of eyewitness testimony, and testing police procedures used with children. |
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| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (viii, 163 pages) |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 3031103815 9783031103810 3031103823 9783031103827 |