course hero what factors can affect the credibility of the investigator as a witness?

What factors affect the credibility of a witness during an investigation?

Some witnesses may withhold or distort information on purpose. Others may have a distorted perception based on factors beyond on their control. The following six factors affect the credibility of a witness during an investigation. 1. Youth Young age can affect the person’s ability to perceive and report the events that they witness.

What makes a witness’ testimony credible?

What a witness knows and how they know it is crucial to the credibility of their testimony. If a witness did not actually observe the act they are describing—they were only told about it—the hearsay evidence rules will exclude the testimony. Hearsay evidence is not credible by law, since it is simply the retelling of what someone told a witness.

What is the basis for the credibility of evidence?

Credibility is addressed by the Rules of Evidence and its analysis is applied in hundreds of thousands of courts every day. Credibility is based on facts presented, law interpreted and the observations of the Judge.

Why is it important to determine a witness’s relationship before interviewing them?

This is why an investigator should ascertain the witness’s relationship to the parties involved before interviewing them. Friends, family members and co-workers will protect each other and enemies will be quick to point the finger at each other. Determining the relationships in advance will help to formulate a strategy for your interviews.

What are the factors that affect the credibility of a witness?

1. Youth. Young age can affect the person’s ability to perceive and report the events that they witness. The very young witness may not have the experience to actually recognize what they have seen.

When an investigator begins to question a young person, do they have to ask the questions in a fashion that is

When the investigator begins to question a young person, they have to ask the questions in a fashion that is understood by the child and prepare to receive the answer in the child’s terminology. For example, in a case of alleged child abuse, the investigator had found no evidence of abuse.

How does background affect testimony?

A person’s background may influence whether they will cooperate with the investigator and affect the testimony the person gives. People who have had positive experiences with law enforcement will be more forthcoming in their information and those with bad experiences will be more reluctant to come forward.

What is the accuracy of information?

Intelligence. Generally, the accuracy of information is greater with the more intelligent person. The more intelligent the person, the greater their ability to process and understand the events they have witnessed. They also have a vocabulary to understand and describe what they have seen.

Why should an investigator not be impatient?

An investigator must not be impatient if the person is slow in communicating because of advanced age. It is very easy to do when you are in a hurry to get information for your case. Sometimes there is a tendency to talk down to the elderly as if they are children.

What are the concerns of being intelligent?

Another concern with a more intelligent person is the fact that, the more intelligent a person, the more capable they are of being a good liar. Use your interview skills to detect deception or whether the person is withholding information. 4. Mental State.

Why do we assume that a person is ignorant or mentally deficient?

Often times we make the error of assuming that a person is ignorant or mentally deficient because they are old, hard of hearing, or speak English as a second language. We must remember that an older person has lived a complete life and has a wealth of knowledge.