MPORT: Memory problems for repeated and distant criminal events
Short description
This research track within MPORT focuses on memory problems and police interviewing in the case of repeated events, with a particular focus on intimate partner violence. The research within this track aims to develop and evaluate scientifically grounded methods to help victims describe individual instances of repeated abuse.
The main objective of this track is to develop effective methods for gathering information from witnesses who have experienced repeated events. Memory impairment is a significant obstacle to prosecuting crimes characterized by delayed reporting and repeated victimization (e.g., repeated physical, psychological, or sexual abuse).
We will conduct archival research on investigations and prosecutions. In particular, we will examine victim interviews conducted with individuals who have been subjected to repeated crimes (in the form of intimate partner violence). This is to investigate how these victims recall and recount repeated victimization, as well as how interviewers structure and conduct these interviews. We will also develop and evaluate scientifically grounded methods for interviewing witnesses about repeated events, which will be tested using laboratory experiments. We will particularly examine empirically possible techniques to help victims describe individual instances of repeated abuse, as this is what both previous research and legal practitioners have identified as the primary challenge.
Researchers
Mikaela Magnusson
Lisa Lindgren
Pär Anders Granhag
Erik Mac Giolla, Atlantic Technical University (Irland)