Accusations abound regarding questionable behavior on the part of Detectives Deal, Keith and Forensic Interviewer, Suzie Thorne, during the investigation and trial of Tonya Craft.
For the purpose of this article, I have researched information provided from news reports, fellow bloggers, such as William Anderson, and list groups; as well as the standards and guidelines for child sexual abuse investigation, criminal investigation, interviewing techniques, and forensic interviewing of possible child abuse victims, etc.
I also contacted Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA and Brandon A. Perron, CCDI, Director of Investigations. Both are very experienced, award winning, highly respected professionals in their fields.
Lt. Raymond Foster, author of "Police Technology" (Prentice Hall, July 2004) and numerous articles, has a BA in Criminal Justice Management, a Masters in Public Finance and is currently finishing his doctoral studies.
In addition to his writing, Lieutenant Foster is an adjunct faculty member at the Union Institute & University and is the founder and principal consultant of Hi Tech Criminal Justice. His consulting projects involve work with the Department of Homeland Security, several universities and non-profit agencies.
Brandon Perron, author of , Uncovering Reasonable Doubt: The Component Method, was named one of the “Top Ten Private Investigation Leaders in the United States” by P.I. Magazine in 1998; is an former U.S. Air Force Criminal Defense Investigator and National Director of The Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council. In 2007, Case in Point, of Boston, MA, and Manchestor, NH, named Brandon Perron its Strategic Operations Director. Mr. Perron provides management support and training for CIP's Criminal Investigation division. Mr. Perron was kind enough to grant me permission to extensively quote his article and website.
Documentation Standards, Part I
There are several things which I question in this case. And as it turns out, they're the same things, for the most part, that many others have been questioning as well. This includes interviewing techniques and documentation standards. Whether it's the medical field, criminal investigation, or the child advocacy field, we all have basically the same documentation standards which we're required to follow.
We are to document completely, accurately, and in a timely manner. Always. I do understand that, unlike FNE's, detectives may not always complete their documentation out in the field. That's understandable. However, they must complete their documentation as soon as possible and date/time it accurately.
There is to be no back dating of notes. Ever. An addendum may be added later, if something was forgotten. Then, it's done in a specific manner, with the current date and time, and the word addendum prior to our note, followed by our signature.
Source: Times Free Press
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/apr/21/witness-testimony-recounted-off-camera/
"(She) came into the conference room on her own and said she needed to tell me something else," said Suzie Thorne, a former forensic interviewer at the GreenHouse Children's Advocacy Center in Dalton, Ga.
"You didn't immediately take her back and put her in front of the camera and document what she was telling you, did you?" asked defense attorney Demosthenes Lorandos, who also is a clinical psychologist.
"No, I did not," Suzie Thorne responded.
Mr. Lorandos paced the courtroom floor for a few moments, then paused in front of Ms. Thorne.
"You didn't think to write it down?" he asked.
"(The) detective appeared to be writing it down," said Ms. Thorne.
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But, the fact of the matter is, both the detective and Suzie Thorne testified that he did in fact take notes at the time of the interview. Well, correction, Ms. Thorne stated "It appeared" the detective was taking notes. Appeared?
They were supposedly in the same room together at the same time. Well, was he or wasn't he? Didn't she ask him? More importantly, why wasn't she taking her own notes? Why didn't she turn the video back on? Didn't they review the notes he had taken afterwords?
Ms. Thorne's statement, " ... those would be in the detective's notes, not hers," indicates to me that Ms. Thorne was very well aware that each professional writes their own notes and that they're kept separate.
Although CAC and law enforcement work together, that doesn't mean one does the work of the other. Each has their own responsibilities and their own job to do. And that includes each person writing their own notes. We FNE's work with law enforcement too yet we work separately.
Our detectives interview our patients before we do the exam. They're in a private room or cubicle while interviewing. We do not intrude or interfere. They do the same for us. The only time the detectives stay in our examining room is when we do suspect exams.
But, apparently, Ms. Thorne has her own way of doing things, which includes neglecting to document the child's additional statement, near verbatum, as required. And of course, also neglecting to turn the video back on.
The CAC had their review meeting on June 11, 2008. I really can't help but wonder how this lack of following protocol got past the review committee or how it may have been discussed. I'd sure love to see those minutes!
After each of our exams, our chart and photos are reviewed by the unit coordinator. Any and all mistakes are caught then and the nurse is notified. The nurse then has to come back in and add an addendum or correct any mistake with a line through it, along with her initials, the correction then written in, followed by the nurse's signature. Then there is the peer review meeting to randomly review charts again.
Protocol Examples:
http://hiredbypolice.com/repbk.pdf
INVESTIGATIVE REPORT WRITING MANUAL
FOR
LAW ENFORCEMENT & SECURITY PERSONNEL
WHAT MAKES AN EXCELLENT REPORT
"An excellent report is one that is well-written, and is identified by six basic, necessary qualities. A well-written report is:
1) Factual
2) Accurate
3) Clear
4) Concise
5) Complete
6) Timely
Officer’s Activity Report or Daily Log: The activity report or daily log is commonly used to provide an agency with statistical information regarding the activity on an officer’s shift. These reports include the calls the officers responded to, the disposition of the call, the amount of time spent on the call, and other activities within the shift such as car stops, number of citations written, etc. Some agencies obtain the same information via a computer terminal in the officer’s vehicle."
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http://www.ipt-forensics.com/library/ajfp1.htm
Guidelines on Investigatory Interviewing of Children: What is the Consensus in the Scientific Community?
Hollida Wakefield*
American Journal of Forensic Psychology, 24(3), 57-74 (2006)
Videotape interview:
“…There are no good reasons for not taping an investigatory interview of a child witness and many compelling reasons for doing so…”
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KITTITAS COUNTY CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE INVESTIGATION PROTOCOLS
Website Source: www.kittitas.wa.us/prosecutor/csaip.pdf
" Where deviations from these protocols occur. . . investigators can, and will be expected, to present their rationale for such deviation.”
"The purpose of these protocols is to provide a clear framework for an interagency response to child sexual assault investigations, which is thorough, objective, and complete.”
“The main objective of the Child Interviewer is to obtain legally sufficient statements from victims that will withstand scrutiny in a court of law . . . "
"The Child Interviewer will: (Partial list)
- Conduct interviews of all victims of sexual abuse in Kittitas County under the age of 18
- Obtain background information from the Investigating Officer and assigned CPS Social Worker
- Conduct interviews while the Investigating Officer observes.
- A deputy prosecuting attorney and CPS Social Worker (if sharing the case) should also observe when possible
- Digitally record interview onto DVD disc
- When the interview is completed, the Child Interviewer checks with observers regarding any requests for further questioning.
- Type a summary of non-disclosure audio-taped interviews and forward signed summary to appropriate agencies;
- Return the original tape of interview to investigating officer for keeping in evidence
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So, bearing this in mind, I'm trying to visualize this whole scenario in my head:
This interview supposedly lasted about two hours, was video taped, Detective Keith* was in the other room watching and taking notes, while Ms. Thorne kept repeatedly asking, anything else? Asking over and over and over again, ad nauseum. After being asked this sixteen times, the child still had not revealed anything earth shattering. Then, the child returns to her mother out in the waiting room.
I remember waiting in the waiting room many times for one of our foster children to come out. The door would open, and the child would fly right out, not wasting any time. Then we'd head out the door. They couldn't wait to leave if their parents weren't there visiting. If the parents were there, it was a different story, as they would cry and cling to them. But, if they weren't present, the child would grab my hand and out we'd go.
There was never any sudden remembrance or suddenly dashing the short fifteen feet or so back to the interview room, opening the door, and going in.
Now, of course, their facility is probably not as old as ours, so maybe their place is bigger and the distance from the interview room to the waiting room probably longer. Who knows? But, this kid made a point of returning to the interview room. During which time, the detective had enough time to leave the room he was in, and come into the interview room with Ms. Thorne, with pen and pad ready.
I'm going to assume that their interview room was like ours, in that it wasn't too big, so as not to intimidate children, I guess. Ours was rather small, warm and cozy, with stuffed toys and coloring books about.
So, the child goes back to the room, after returning to her mother, in order to tell them some absolutely horrendous thing that had occurred (that she had just happened to remember). Personally, if I had been the mother, I would have been the one to take my child by the hand, go knock on the door, and tell the interviewer that my child had just remembered something. But, I guess I'm not like this child's mother.
Ms. Thorne was labeling DVD's and Detective Keith was . . . well, I'm not quite sure what he was doing at the time. Anyway, apparently, these two veterans of law enforcement and child advocacy, didn't think to turn the video on again in order to visually capture what may have been the single, most critical piece of information in the entire investigation!
What is even more amazing is the fact that Detective Keith thought enough to get out his pen and pad to take notes but didn't think to remind Ms. Thorne to do the same. Something like: Hey, maybe you should turn on the machine again? Oh, and maybe you should take notes too while you're at it? might have been nice!
* Correction: Detective Keith was in the interview with Ms. Thorne. Ms. Thorne later testified she couldn't remember which detective was in the room with her.
Part II tomorrow
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