Child witnesses are sometimes considered to be unreliable sources of information in investigations. There is an idea that children are impressionable and can sometimes be swayed into saying things that are untrue. Their imagination may get the best of them and they may start to make up stories that are not true. Or, their testimonies may be influenced by social workers and attorneys. In the video, a reporter is telling the story of Caleigh Harrison who disappeared while on a family outing at the beach. Police say that there is no evidence that she was abducted and that she may have been swept away in the ocean. Her four year old sister tells a different story. She insists that there was a mysterious man at the beach that day with her family and that he took Caleigh. In the video, psychologist Dr. Robin Deutsch speaks of the factors that influence child reliability. She says that four year olds can indeed be reliable. Their reliability depends on their ability to recount information. Reliability also depends on who is asking the questions and when they are asking the questions. For instance, if it is a family member who does not have training in proper interviewing techniques then they may put untrue information into the child’s mind. Also, if the child is not asked question about the event in a timely manner, then the child may be exposed to more information about the event and that information may be incorporated into the child’s recollection of the event. Deutsch also points out that children respond to emotions. If they are telling their memory of the event and they find that it displeases the person they are telling it to, they may change the story in order to appeal to the person they are talking to. Child reliability was the issue in the video we saw in class called “Witch Hunt.” The testimony of a child witness can make or break a case against a defendant.
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This is definitely true because a child’s mind can easily be manipulated either by other people or the child’s own emotions. I think there should be a guildline or a standard to approve when a child is reliable to be a witness such as their age, the time between the incident and the trial, the questions being asked, and etc. Maybe simple questions would be okay to ask such as “did you see this man at the crime scene?” Also, children can have dreams or wild imaginations that sometimes they mix in with reality. I honestly don’t think children should be involved in cases because they’re not that reliable and it is traumatizing as well. Or the child should be put to a certian test or experiment first to see if they are good and reliable at recalling something. It is hard because sometimes a child is the only witness for the case but care should definitely be taken.