Major Crimes Police Interviewing in Dubai: an examination of the Investigative Interviewing Triangle
Date
2019
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Publisher
University of Portsmouth
Abstract
Most studies on police interviewing practices have been conducted in Western
countries. The results of which may not be generalisable to other countries whose
social, cultural, and legal norms differ. The research conducted for this thesis was the
first to explore major crime interviewing in Dubai (and indeed the whole region) from
the perspectives of three main parties in criminal investigations, namely, (i) police
officers, (ii) victims, and (iii) suspects. These parties form what was termed the
Investigative interviewing Triangle. In the present thesis, after a review of the
investigative interviewing literature (Chapter 2) and an overview of the social and legal
aspects of Dubai (Chapter 3), five empirical studies were conducted to explore the
perspectives of the the three parties of the interviewing triangle.
The first empirical study (N=10) (Chapter 4) explored how police officers in
Dubai conduct major crime interviews and how they viewed them, with the aim of
understanding in-depth, major crime interviewing in Dubai and providing an empirical
basis for the subsequent empirical studies. Informed by empirical Study One, empirical
Study Two (N=62) (Chapter 5) aimed to understand the perspectives of a wider range of
police officers, and helped form a broader picture of the practices of major crime
interviewing in Dubai. Chapter 6 (empirical Study Three) (N= 16) examined the
perspectives of major crime victims in Dubai, and how their experiences compared
between being interviewed in a police station and being interviewed by a specialist unit,
both of which they had experienced. Chapter 7 (empirical Study Four) (N=28) explored
convicted offenders’ perceptions of their own police interviews, and whether their
perceived police interviewing practices effected their resultant interview outcomes.
Finally, empirical Study Five (Chapter 8) examined (utilising a vignette experiment) the
potential effects of police interviewing styles on interview outcomes, from the
perspectives of convicted offenders (N=28). Overall, the findings from these studies
were in line with much of the Western research findings, especially concerning the
positive effects of a humanitarian based approach. However, there were a few
discrepancies (e.g. it was found that victims and suspects in this research who reported
experiencing attitudes and responses related to a humanitarian interview style, also
experienced a more formal police interviewer), and those differences could be attributed
to Dubai having a unique social, cultural, and legal norms.
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Keywords
child abuse, investigation, International Resources, United Arab Emirates, major crime interviews
Citation
Almansoori, R. A. (2019).Major Crimes Police Interviewing in Dubai: An examination of the Investigative Interviewing Triangle. University of Portsmouth