Programme

THE POLICE, INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING AND HUMAN RIGHTS:
LEGAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS

Brandenburg State Police University, Oranienburg/Berlin, Germany,
22 to 24 May 2024

Conference venue:
Brandenburg State Police University –
Hochschule der Polizei des Landes Brandenburg
Bernauer Strasse 146
16515 Oranienburg, Germany

Wednesday 22 May 2024

8:30   Registration
9:00    Welcome addresses
9:30    Introduction   Prof Ralf Alleweldt, Professor for Constitutional and European Law, Brandenburg State Police University

Opening Keynote Lectures

10:00 The effectiveness of investigative interviewing: an evidence-based assessment
Prof Ray Bull, Professor of Criminal Investigation, University of Derby, United Kingdom

10:45 Discussion
11:15 Coffee break

11:45 From the prohibition of torture to the Principles on Effective Interviewing
             Prof Juan E. Méndez, Professor of Human Rights in Residence, Washington College of Law, American University, Washington, D.C., USA, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (online or in person)
12:30   Discussion
13:00   Lunch break

14:00 Parallel Workshops 1-2: Experiences

Workshop 1: Investigative interviewing and police practice
• Investigative interviewing in the United Kingdom Dr Andy Griffiths, Managing Director, iKAT Consulting; Honorary Lecturer, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom; Affiliated Scholar, New York University, United States of America
• Investigative interviewing in Ukraine Mr Yuriy Belousov, Head of War Crimes Department, General Prosecutor Office, Kyiv, Ukraine; Ms. Vasylyna Yavorska, Executive Director, JustGroup, Kyiv, Ukraine

Workshop 2: Investigative interviewing and police practice
• Investigative interviewing in Brazil Dr William Weber Cecconello, Lecturer of Psychology, Atitus Education; Coordinator, Laboratory of Teaching and Research in Cognition and Justice (CogJus), Passo Fundo, Brazil
• Investigative interviewing in the United Arab Emirates Dr Rashid Almansoori, Forensic Science and Criminology General Department, Dubai Police, United Arab Emirates; Centre for Forensic Interviewing, University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom

15:15 Coffee break
15:45 Parallel Workshops 1-2 (continued)

17:00 End of day 1

Thursday 23 May 2024

9:00    Police interviews and human rights: respecting dignity and ensuring a fair trial
   Prof Robert Esser, Chair of German, European and International Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and White-Collar Crime, Director, Research Center “Human Rights in Criminal Proceedings”, University of Passau, Germany
9:30    False confessions in police interviews: examples, causes, effects, prevention
             Prof Allison Redlich, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Criminology, Law and Society, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virgina, United States of America; former President, American Psychology-Law Society

10:00 Discussion
10:30 Coffee break

11:00    Investigative interviewing in the context of preventing torture
              Valentina Cadelo, Senior Adviser, Law and Advocacy, Association for the Prevention of Torture, Geneva, Switzerland
11:30    Investigative interviewing: a human rights perspective
              Dr Anja Bienert, Senior Programme Officer, Police and Human Rights Programme, Amnesty International, Dutch Section, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
12:00   Discussion
12:45   Lunch break
13:45    Police interviews and intercultural communication
              Dr Tanja van Veldhuizen, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

14:15 Discussion
15:00 Sightseeing programme

Friday 24 May 2024

9:30   Parallel Workshops 3-4: Vulnerability, rapport, empathy
            Workshop 3: Vulnerability during police questioning
            •   Situations of heightened vulnerability in police interviews Prof Lore Mergaerts, Leuven Institute of Criminology, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium
            •   The vulnerability of victims and witnesses of crime in police interviews Dr Kevin Smith, Lecturer in Investigation, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom; former National Vulnerable Witness Adviser to law enforcement

            Workshop 4: Rapport and Empathy
            •   The importance of rapport in interview situations with persons suspected of terrorist offences Dr Frances Surmon-Böhr, Research Associate, University of Liverpool, United Kingdom
            •   The effectiveness of empathy in investigative interviews with crime suspects Dr Bianca Baker-Eck, Independent Psychological Consulting, Expert and Trainer for Investigative Interviewing, Munich, Germany

11:00   Coffee break
11:30   Parallel Workshops 3-4 (continued)
12:30   Lunch break
13:30   Reports from workshops to the plenary; general discussion
14:30   Coffee break

Closing Keynote Lectures

15:00 Investigative interviewing and police training Mr Daren Jay, former specialist military police investigator, Lecturer in Policing, Australian Graduate School of Policing and Security, Charles Sturt University, Canberra, Australia, and Chief Executive, Interview Management Solutions

15:40 Where to go from here? Advancing the Méndez principles and continuing the research on ethical interviewing Prof Gavin E. Oxburgh, Professor of Police Science and Assistant Director of the Northern Hub for Veteran and Military Families Research, Northumbria University, Newcastle on Tyne, United Kingdom

16:20 Discussion
17:00 Conclusion Ralf Alleweldt

17:30 End of conference