Abstract
After witnessing an incident, police officers may write their report collaboratively. We examined how collaboration influences the amount and accuracy of information in police reports. Eighty-six police officers participated, in pairs, in a live training scenario. Officers wrote a report about the incident, either with their partner or individually. Reports by two officers working together (collaborative performance) contained less information than reports by two officers working individually (nominal performance), with no difference in accuracy. After the first report, officers who had worked individually wrote a collaborative report. Police officers who recorded their own memories prior to collaboration included less incorrect information in the collaborative report than police officers who wrote a collaborative report immediately after the incident. Finally, content-focused retrieval strategies (acknowledge, repeat, rephrase, elaborate) during the officers’ discussion positively predicted the amount of information in collaborative reports. Practical recommendations for the police and suggestions for further research are provided.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1071-1092 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Journal | Criminal Justice and Behavior |
| Volume | 45 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| Early online date | 10 May 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jul 2018 |
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Keywords
- collaborative recall
- memory
- memory conformity
- police report
- retrieval strategy
Cite this
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Writing Alone or Together : Police Officers’ Collaborative Reports of an Incident. / Vredeveldt, Annelies; Kesteloo, Linda; van Koppen, Peter J.
In: Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 45, No. 7, 01.07.2018, p. 1071-1092.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Writing Alone or Together
T2 - Police Officers’ Collaborative Reports of an Incident
AU - Vredeveldt, Annelies
AU - Kesteloo, Linda
AU - van Koppen, Peter J.
PY - 2018/7/1
Y1 - 2018/7/1
N2 - After witnessing an incident, police officers may write their report collaboratively. We examined how collaboration influences the amount and accuracy of information in police reports. Eighty-six police officers participated, in pairs, in a live training scenario. Officers wrote a report about the incident, either with their partner or individually. Reports by two officers working together (collaborative performance) contained less information than reports by two officers working individually (nominal performance), with no difference in accuracy. After the first report, officers who had worked individually wrote a collaborative report. Police officers who recorded their own memories prior to collaboration included less incorrect information in the collaborative report than police officers who wrote a collaborative report immediately after the incident. Finally, content-focused retrieval strategies (acknowledge, repeat, rephrase, elaborate) during the officers’ discussion positively predicted the amount of information in collaborative reports. Practical recommendations for the police and suggestions for further research are provided.
AB - After witnessing an incident, police officers may write their report collaboratively. We examined how collaboration influences the amount and accuracy of information in police reports. Eighty-six police officers participated, in pairs, in a live training scenario. Officers wrote a report about the incident, either with their partner or individually. Reports by two officers working together (collaborative performance) contained less information than reports by two officers working individually (nominal performance), with no difference in accuracy. After the first report, officers who had worked individually wrote a collaborative report. Police officers who recorded their own memories prior to collaboration included less incorrect information in the collaborative report than police officers who wrote a collaborative report immediately after the incident. Finally, content-focused retrieval strategies (acknowledge, repeat, rephrase, elaborate) during the officers’ discussion positively predicted the amount of information in collaborative reports. Practical recommendations for the police and suggestions for further research are provided.
KW - collaborative recall
KW - memory
KW - memory conformity
KW - police report
KW - retrieval strategy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046733334&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85046733334&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0093854818771721
DO - 10.1177/0093854818771721
M3 - Article
VL - 45
SP - 1071
EP - 1092
JO - Criminal Justice and Behavior
JF - Criminal Justice and Behavior
SN - 0093-8548
IS - 7
ER -