Mindful Eyewitness Interview

The Mindful Interview Method: Retrieving Cognitive Evidence provides investigators with a proven methodology to gather authentic, reliable information from eyewitnesses to help identify potential suspects. The book offers police, and non-law enforcement readers, step-by-step techniques to improve gathering reliable evidence through a "mindful" interview process. The author also provides an assessment component that can measure the reliability of previous interviews performed, and further help to improve the interview process, the skills of the investigator, and thus the reliability of cognitive evidence gathered from future interviews.?

It is notable that there is minimal to no instruction or training currently offered to those individuals most-often tasked with interviewing an eyewitness about a crime as part of criminal investigations. Despite the lack of training and certification, we allow interviewers to conduct questioning in the face of well-established research as to the malleability of human memory. The assumption is that officials, trained in the rules of evidence, will innately ask the right questions—and in the proper manner—without the proper understanding of the fragility of human memory or the proper training. That assumption is false, and the reality is quite the opposite. In fact, we learn of cases commonplace in the media, that frequently involve questionable interview tactics, misidentifications, and wrongful convictions of innocent people.

in a mindful manner.