Memories can be freezed to re-call later, said scientists from University of Portsmouth, who have developed an avant-garde tool that ‘freezes’ the memory of crime scenes in the minds of witnesses.
This new tool functions as a self-administered interview(SAI) applied by witnesses at a scene of crime and combats natural memory decay by using latest research in cognitive psychology.
This SAI practice tool has been developed by Dr Lorraine Hope from the University of Portsmouth and its collaborators Dr Fiona Gabbert from University of Abertay and Professor Ronald Fisher from Florida International University.
This breakthrough innovation is funded by British Academy and the scientists themselves worked with police forces in England and Scotland to develop the witness ‘recall and report’ tool to record witness memory at the first likely opportunity - at the scene of the incident.
To help detectives in solving important cases this new tool freezes image, details and perpetrators of crime scene in the minds of witnesses and helps to store all small and irrelevant details those sometimes turn vital to solve complicated cases.
The tests conducted at replicated scene of crimes revealed that witnesses outfitted with this tool recalled 42 percent accurate and forensically relevant information as compare to other witnesses those who were simply asked to report as much as they can memorize.
The tests also discovered that witnesses using this SAI (self-administered interview) were 44 percent accurate regarding details about so-called perpetrators and possible suspects who were involved in the event.
The next test was conducted to examine the witnesses after seven days from the scene of crime to report the full account. It revealed that half the participants accomplished self-administered interviews after witnessing the event while others merely gave their names and contact details.
When the scientists tested the group after seven days the participants who completed the SAI was reporting almost 30 percent correct details as compared to other witnesses.
According to Dr Lorraine Hope, the long gap between witnessing the event and to recall it fully afterwards cast less accurate and un-complete witness reports. She further added:
Decades of research in cognitive psychology demonstrate that memory decay, or forgetting, occurs rapidly at first. In a witnessing situation, this ‘forgetting’ will occur naturally and within hours of the incident. As the delay between witnessing and formal interview increases to days, memory decay will level off. However, by that time, many useful and forensically relevant details or clues may be lost forever
To enable effective law enforcement this SAI tool could emerge as an important technology because in this witness gets full opportunity to record their memories before any potentially crucial information is forgotten.
Source: University of Portsmouth
