Expert testimony in child sexual abuse cases: The effects of evidence, coherence and credentials on juror decision making

2009 ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Klettke ◽  
Arthur C. Graesser ◽  
Martine B. Powell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Expert Testimony ◽  
Juror Decision Making

Probative and Prejudicial Value of Expert Testimony on Child Sexual Abuse

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamala London ◽  
Julie Buck
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Expert Testimony

scholarly journals The Police Use of Background Information Related to Alleged Victims in Mock Evaluations of Child Sexual Abuse

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 414-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tadei ◽  
Pekka Santtila ◽  
Jan Antfolk
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Individual Variables ◽  
Subject Performance ◽  
Decision Making Support

Abstract When statistically related to child sexual abuse (CSA), background information can assist decision-making in investigations of CSA allegations. Here, we studied the use of such background information among Finnish police officers. We analyzed their ability to identify and interpret CSA-related and CSA-unrelated background information both when placed in mock scenarios and when presented as separate, individual variables. We also measured the ability to correctly estimate the probability of CSA based on such background information. In the context of mock scenarios, officers were better in discarding CSA-unrelated variables than in identifying CSA-related ones. Within-subject performance across different scenarios was, however, not consistent. When information was presented as separate variables, officers tended to incorrectly consider many CSA-unrelated variables as CSA-related. Officers performed better in recognizing whether actual CSA-related variables increase or decrease the probability of CSA. Finally, officers were inaccurate in identifying variables that are CSA-related only for boys or only for girls. When asked to estimate the CSA probability of mock scenarios, participants were accurate only in assessing low-probability cases, and this was not associated with the ability to identify CSA-related and CSA-unrelated variables. We conclude that police officers would benefit from more training in using background information and from using available decision-making support tools in the context of investigating CSA allegations.

A systematic approach to quality assessment of expert testimony in cases of alleged child sexual abuse

2002 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara H. Gumpert ◽  
Frank Lindblad ◽  
Martin Grann
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Expert Testimony ◽  
Systematic Approach

scholarly journals The Police Use of Background Information Related to Alleged Victims in Mock Evaluations of Child Sexual Abuse

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Tadei ◽  
Pekka Santtila ◽  
Jan Antfolk
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Child Sexual Abuse ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Base Rate ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Low Probability ◽  
Subject Performance ◽  
Decision Making Support

When statistically related to child sexual abuse (CSA), background information can assist decision-making in investigations of CSA allegations. Here, we studied the use of such background information among Finnish police officers. We analyzed their ability to identify and interpret CSA-related and -unrelated background information both when placed in mock scenarios and when presented as separate variables. We also measured the ability to correctly estimate the base-rate of CSA allegations being true based on such background information. In the context of mock scenarios, officers were better in discarding CSA-unrelated variables than in identifying CSA-related ones. Within-subject performance across different scenarios was, however, not consistent. When information was presented as separate variables, officers tended to incorrectly consider many CSA-unrelated variables as CSA-related. Officers performed well in recognizing whether CSA-related variables increase or decrease CSA risk. Finally, officers were inaccurate in identifying variables that are CSA-related only for boys or only for girls. When asked to estimate the CSA probability of mock scenarios, participants were accurate only in assessing low-probability cases, and this was not associated with the ability to identify CSA-related and -unrelated variables. We conclude that police officers would benefit from more training in using background information and from using available decision-making support tools in the context of investigating CSA allegations.

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