In the 1980s and 1990s there were several high-profile criminal cases involving child witnesses who reported heinous acts of abuse that could not have occurred as described by the children. Reports were elicited by aggressive and coercive interviewers who were committed to uncovering abuse. These cases spurred a tremendous amount of research on the strengths and limitations of children’s eyewitness memory. In turn, this research was the foundation for the development of several child forensic interview protocols. Although there are many different protocols, all the good ones follow a few best-practice principles.
The Criminal Defense Advocacy Society and Courthouse Libraries BC invite criminal law practitioners to join us for a webinar on Child Forensic Interviewing: Dos and Don’ts. This is the 10th webinar in the Criminal Law Scholar Series which will take place on Thursday, April 27 from 12:30 – 2:00 PM. Our presenter, Professor Deborah Connolly will describe the principles of good child forensic interviews, why they are important, and possible consequences if the principles are not followed.
Participants may claim up to 1.5 hours of CPD with LSBC.
Presented by Deborah Connolly, Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University and moderated by Tamara Levy, KC.