When investigating and prosecuting a violent crime that only has one witness, the interview of that witness is invaluable. As such, it is critically important that it is done in a manner that generates the most accurate information. This requires us to let go of many misconceptions we may hold about what we typically use to signal that someone is being less than truthful — believing that an inability to retell events in chronological order signals that a person is being dishonest or that remembering more details in the days following the initial interview somehow discredits the witness’s initial statement.

To begin, we must first discuss the neurobiology of trauma as it is used to describe a person’s response to becoming the victim of a crime. “Neurobiology of trauma” is an increasingly common phrase used by those involved in investigating and prosecuting crimes, particularly sex crimes. Do not be dissuaded by the phrase; this column is not a deep dive into the science of brain function!

“Neurobiology of trauma” refers to a combination of various sciences that help explain the different ways in which people react to traumatic situations — reactions that are often misinterpreted as signs that a person is being untruthful. The term is used to explain the ways a person responds during a traumatic event, the way they encode and store the experience in their memory, and the way they recall those memories later.¹ The functions of these neural networks are automatic, serve to protect us from attack, and are deeply ingrained within each of us.² An interviewer who does not understand the impact a traumatic event has on the brain — and thus does not conduct a trauma-informed interview — will not be able to elicit the same quantity and quality of information as an interviewer who has such an understanding.

What does it mean to conduct a trauma-informed interview? A trauma-informed interview involves understanding how the victim is affected by the various traumatic experiences of crime both in how it impacts their ability to recall and recite what occurred to them and how it impacts their overall mental and physical health. A true victim-centered approach empowers the victim of a crime to make informed decisions about their participation in the criminal justice process from beginning to end including, but not limited to, whether to participate in the process at all, thus providing the system with a means to hold offenders accountable.³ It is important for the interviewer to collect accurate information from the victim in order to get as complete a retelling of what occurred as possible. Accuracy and completeness benefit all who are impacted by the criminal justice process: victim, suspects, and society at large.

To do this, we must be aware that traditional methods of interviewing crime victims simply do not square up with what we now know about the way trauma impacts the brain.⁴ When talking about traumatic events, information typically is not recalled in chronological order. As such, questions presented to victims as “who, what, when, where, why, and how?” may not yield informative responses and will very likely be lacking details such as a suspect’s appearance and behavior during the assault.⁵

This occurs because the brain experiences a response to the physiological effects of stressful events that impacts the functioning in the memory centers, which play a critical role in successful recollection and memory-guided decision making.⁶ In training sessions, Dr. Rebecca Campbell, a psychology professor at Michigan State University, uses an easy-to-understand metaphor about Post-it Notes⁷ to describe neurobiology of trauma. She explains that during a stressful event, the brain is taking down the information related to memory in Post-it Note-sized snippets and the notes are shuffled together in the brain’s storage.

When asked to retell the circumstances of the stressful event, the notes emerge as if they are scattered across the floor, with the victim able to pick up some of them. Often, the victim is not able to recall all notes while being questioned, which explains why a complete recollection of the details regarding the assault are not present at that time. And because the notes are shuffled in the victim’s brain, events may be recited in non-chronological order. This helps us understand why a victim may later remember facts that were not reported at first, as that particular note is “found” in the brain after initial statements are given and the person has had time to process information after the pressure of the interview is gone.

The brain also experiences a response to the physiological effects of stress during attempts to recall information,⁸ which is important to note because talking to police, prosecutors, judges, and juries can all qualify as stressful events. Achieving justice for victims of crimes, protecting society from predators, and ensuring suspects are investigated fairly demands that we understand the reality of this physiological response. Signs that a person has undergone a stressful event — such as lack of details, not speaking in chronological order, or memory blocks — should not be misinterpreted as signs that a victim lacks credibility. In a 2019 report for End Violence Against Women International, Dr. Jim Hopper, an expert on neurobiology and trauma, wrote:

“Not recalling such details may simply indicate that those details were not encoded into memory in the first place or were not retained, which should be expected of a brain for any experience, especially a traumatic one. For example, law enforcement professionals recognize that colleagues involved in officer-involved shootings often don’t remember drawing their weapon or how many shots were fired, let alone whether the suspect was holding a gun … in their right or left hand.”⁹

How should we conduct a trauma-informed interview? Making the interview environment as stress-free as possible is a good start. This is accomplished by making sincere efforts to establish rapport with the victim, acknowledging that the victim has experienced a traumatic and painful event, and communicating in language the victim is comfortable with and understands. This also means allowing the victim to speak without interruption, avoiding “why?” questions (which tend to come across as victim-blaming), inviting mental health advocacy specialists or a support person in the room with the victim during the interview, and including other measures designed to make the victim more comfortable.

How do we ensure the victim provides as much accurate and reliable information as possible while also understanding the impacts that the trauma has had on their memory? In addition to the above suggestions, use non-leading questions and open-ended prompts, allow for and encourage narrative responses without interruption, and focus on what the victim was feeling throughout the experience. Instead of insisting on chronological storytelling, focus on sensory experiences the victim can recall (smell, sight, sound, taste, touch, and internal body sensations.) Lastly, accept without pressure or judgment when the victim responds by saying “I don’t know” or “I don’t remember.”

For further information on trauma-informed interviewing, see Effective Victim Interviewing: Helping Victims Retrieve and Disclose Memories of Sexual Assault at https://evawintl.org/courses/evawi-06-effective-victim-interviewing-helping-victims-retrieve-and-disclose-memories-of-sexual-assault/ [https://perma.cc/9B56-G8ME] and Sexual Assault: A Trauma Informed Approach to Law Enforcement First Response at https://www.sakitta.org/toolkit/.