Interviewing alleged victims with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and autism: A field study of police-investigated cases of physical and sexual abuse in a Norwegian national sample.
Real police interviews with autistic or ID victims use open questions only 2.6 % of the time, far below best practice.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Giesbers et al. (2020) read 80 real police interviews. All interviews were with people who have intellectual disability or autism. The team counted the kinds of questions police asked.
They wanted to see if officers used open questions like "Tell me what happened." Open questions let the person talk freely. Closed or yes-no questions can lead or confuse.
What they found
Only 2.6 % of all questions were open-ended. Most questions were closed, forced-choice, or leading. Officers rarely gave space for free recall.
The pattern was the same for both mild and moderate disability groups. Autism or ID label made no difference in question style.
How this fits with other research
Plate (2025) shows autism language research is moving toward natural samples. Giesbers et al. (2020) is one of the few to supply real legal transcripts, so the field study fills a gap the review flags.
Casey et al. (2009) watched autistic kids at family dinner and also saw short, limited turns. Both papers find the same sparse back-and-forth, just in different settings.
Morgan et al. (2014) taught autistic adults job-interview skills and saw gains. Their training used open prompts and praise, the very tools police interviews lack. Together the studies show the problem is not the interviewee—it’s the interviewer style.
Why it matters
If you assess clients who may enter legal settings, teach them to ask for open questions. Role-play with wh- prompts and wait time. Share the 2.6 % number with lawyers or guardians so they can push police to use best-practice questioning and reduce false or missing statements.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: People with intellectual disabilities (IDs) or autism are at great risk of being victims of physical and sexual abuse. This study uses transcriptions of real-life investigative interviews to examine the interview techniques (e.g. question type) used in investigative interviews of these groups of alleged victims. METHODS: A national sample of transcribed investigative interviews (N = 96) of alleged victims with mild ID (n = 48, age 5-70 years old), moderate ID (n = 18, age 14-43 years old) and autism (n = 16, age 5-50 years old) was analysed. RESULTS: The study shows a preponderance of alleged sexual offences (70.7%) and reveals that open-ended questions account for only 2.6% of the total number of questions asked. The interviewers relied heavily on yes/no (53.4%) and directive questions (32.2%). Suggestive questions (8.6%) were frequently used. CONCLUSIONS: The use of question type varied considerably within and across the diagnostic group. The study reveals the need for a more in-depth analysis of variables that influence investigative interviews of people with cognitive impairments.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2020 · doi:10.1111/jir.12771