Which interview techniques help avoid leading the victim and encourage detailed recall?

• A. Yes/no questions only
• B. Open-ended, non-suggestive questions, narrative storytelling, avoid yes/no prompts, use cognitive interviewing when appropriate
• C. Coercive prompts
• D. Rushed timelines

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is how to obtain a thorough, accurate recall from a victim without steering them. Open-ended, non-suggestive questions let the person describe what happened in their own words and in their own sequence, which tends to yield more detail than yes/no prompts. Encouraging narrative storytelling gives the victim a chance to share a fuller, chronological account and to surface details they might not think to mention with closed questions. When appropriate, cognitive interviewing adds structured retrieval techniques—such as mentally reinstating the context, encouraging everything spoken or not yet stated, and exploring event sequences from different angles—without guiding the answer.

In contrast, yes/no questions tend to limit information and miss nuances, coercive prompts pressure the victim and can erode trust, and rushing through timelines can distort memory and reduce accuracy.