RISK / SECURITY such as having to make decisions and responses quickly . This means that crucial information may not always be optimally encoded . At other times the information is encoded , but witnesses need help to retrieve it from memory .”
MEMORY IN DYNAMIC ENCOUNTERS In other research aimed at assessing the effect of psychological stress on memory , Professor Hope monitored heart rates in pairs of police officers – one responding to an increasingly agitated armed offender threatening hostages and officers , and the other officer observing the simulation . Afterwards , both officers had to give detailed accounts of what had happened .
The active responder had a significantly higher heart rate and recalled significantly less correct information about the incident compared to the observer .
Almost 20 per cent of participants in this study recalled the offender pointing a gun at them – something that never happened . This illustrates an interesting and naturally occurring memory error .
HELPING WHEN RESOURCES ARE LIMITED The SAI © provides police with additional options for obtaining reliable information from multiple witnesses at a crime scene .
In one of Professor Hope ’ s case studies , Greater Manchester Police helped test the SAI © after a chaotic road accident in which a speeding motorbike rider had crashed into a car , killing himself and landing his two pillion passengers in the path of an oncoming bus .
The first police officers on the scene identified eight key witnesses , to whom they spoke immediately . They took the names of another eight people who , under normal circumstances , would have been interviewed later . On this occasion , these witnesses were given SAI © forms . The feedback from police was that this saved them considerable time and helped them to identify three more eyewitnesses with useful information .
“ Over time , your memory decays ,” Professor Hope says . “ So witnesses will be losing information from memory , such as valuable , specific details about what they saw . There ’ s also time for the memory to become contaminated , perhaps by new
Assisting national security
Lorraine Hope , Professor of Applied Psychology at the University of Portsmouth , works closely with the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats ( CREST ). CREST is a national hub for security research , funded by the UK ’ s security and intelligence agencies through a grant administered by the Economic and Social Research Council . Its mission is to deliver a world-class , interdisciplinary portfolio of activity that maximises the value of behavioural and social science research to understanding , mitigating and countering threats to national security . Professor Hope ’ s Timeline Technique has been recognised for its effectiveness in obtaining more information than is generally gained from a conventional question-and-answer session . A CREST impact review cited this new technique as having provided greater insights into national security issues , including information relating to recruiting techniques and locations used by a terrorist organisation .
In 2020 , CREST awarded Professor Hope funding to identify the best techniques for getting information about security threats from online sources , with a focus on building rapport and communication strategies .
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information about the incident appearing on the news , or false information being spread on social media .”
The SAI © now forms part of the College of Policing ’ s recommendations for obtaining initial accounts from witnesses in England and Wales . It has been translated into numerous languages and adopted either for use or in trials in Europe and internationally . The SAI © has also been adapted for use in digital and online formats , while versions for other investigative contexts have also been developed including , most recently , a version to assist with missing persons investigations .
“ In psychology , we ought to be able to deliver better tools and techniques for police to provide the best possible accounts of what happened , informed by objective science . There is no judgement in this – it ’ s all about the evidence ,” says Professor Hope .
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