Tele-forensic interviewing to elicit children's evidence—Benefits, risks, and practical considerations.

Tele-forensic interviewing (tele-FI; e.g., via video-conferencing software) may be an effective way of increasing the accessibility of skilled interviewers for children who are questioned as part of a criminal or care and protection investigation. The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted how critical it is that we have evidence-based procedures to draw upon when traditional face-to-face interviews cannot be used. In this article we discuss the benefits and risks associated with tele-FI, review the small number of studies that have examined its effectiveness for eliciting memory reports from adults and children, and discuss practical considerations that should inform planning for an interview. Tele-FI appears a promising avenue for creating resiliency within organizations, and overcoming factors that might otherwise undermine the reliability of children's evidence. Available research indicates children's memory reports elicited in tele-FIs are likely to be as good or better than those from face-to-face interviews, but a more comprehensive evidence-base is needed. Interviewers should be aware of how using this approach may influence their questioning strategies and engagement with children. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)