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A training workshop for police officers who interview child witnesses: Information concerning child development and the adverse impact of exposure to intimate partner abuse

Posted on:2010-03-28Degree:Psy.DType:Dissertation
University:University of HartfordCandidate:Porter, Jennine RachelFull Text:PDF
GTID:1446390002475276Subject:Education
Abstract/Summary:
While violent acts overall continue to plague contemporary society, intimate partner abuses (IPA) in particular constitute a large proportion of law enforcement interventions. Because IPA largely occurs within the home, children are overrepresented at these scenes, and therefore responding officers are likely to encounter child witnesses to the IPA perpetrated by adults. Although interactions between police and child witnesses are a frequent occurrence, police officers often receive minimal training regarding appropriate child interviewing techniques. An understanding of different developmental stages, as well as possible effects that exposure to IPA may have on child witnesses, could help police officers conduct more appropriate and effective interviews. Such an understanding may also increase the officers' level of comfort when conducting child interviews, as well as increase officers' ability to identify areas where the child witness might benefit from treatment intervention. In order to help increase officers' understanding relative to the above issues, the current project is a workshop designed for police officers who conduct interviews with children who have witnessed IPA. The goals of the workshop are to increase officers' understanding of child development and the impact that exposure to IPA can have on these areas, and to increase the officers' level of comfort when conducting child interviews. Self-report measures will also be created to assess the effectiveness of the workshop as well as identify areas for improvement.
Keywords/Search Tags:Child, Police officers, IPA, Workshop, Exposure
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