Key Developments
Key Development of the SAI
Below are some of the key moments and latest updates in the ongoing development and usage of the Self Administered Interview.
NHS Terrorist Incidents
We are currently working with the NHS on adapting the Self Administered Interview for terrorist incidents.
SAI used in Aviation Incidents
In 2021 a version of the SAI was developed for aviation incident investigations, and used to great effect following a….
College of Policing endorse the SAI
In 2019, the College of Policing released new Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidelines for frontline police officers on obtaining initial accounts from eyewitnesses, that includes a strategic recommendation that "Interview advisers should consider use of the Self-Administered Interview in single incidents involving high numbers of witnesses”.
College of Policing advise the use of the SAI during the Covid Pandemic
More recently, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the College of Policing issued updated policy guidance specifically advising for the use of the SAI to facilitate timely accounts from crime victims or witnesses, particularly those who were shielding or self-isolating.
SAI developed with National Crime Agency for Missing Persons Unit
In 2018, the Missing Persons Unit located within the National Crime Agency (UK) worked with the research team to develop a new version of the SAI for missing persons investigations.
Feedback from trials confirms “The missing persons SAI has made a real contribution to the way in which investigators can collect critical information from families and friends about the missing person and also enables them to contribute meaningfully to the search.”
SAI-Missing Tool used by the Met Police, UK
Since this time, components of our SAI-Missing tool have been used by the Met Police in their ‘Report a Missing Person Online’ form.
Cold Case SAI for Locate International
The research team have just developed a version of the SAI to use on cold-case missing person investigations for Locate International.
SAI for Road Traffic Collisions developed with South Wales Police
Since 2019, South Wales Police have conducted trials of the SAI for Road Traffic Collisions (SAI-RTC), a bespoke version of the SAI developed for use in serious road traffic collisions.
A quote from one of the investigating officers reported “I can honestly say despite being a seasoned statement taker there is no way I would have been able to capture the quality of evidence that she has recorded in the SAI.”
The field trial is now complete; see the practitioner report showing our key findings below:
Service of Behavioural Sciences of the Belgian Federal Police and Sexual Assault Referral Centres
In 2020, the research team worked directly with the Service of Behavioural Sciences of the Belgian Federal Police and Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARC; Belgium) to enhance response capability during the COVID-19 pandemic. This involved the development of a new version of the SAI for use with victims of sexual violence.
Feedback from SARC notes the impact of the SAI on the services offered in this period, enabling victims to provide detailed accounts about their experiences when the opportunity to conduct interpersonal interviews has been curtailed due to the pandemic:
“This tool certainly represents a real added value for providing legal assistance to victims of sexual violence, and all the more in view of the circumstances related to COVID-19, which can represent a real barrier for victims to come to the SARC and/or to file a complaint”.
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Internationally, the SAI has been adopted as an investigative tool by police forces in Norway (since 2014), the Netherlands (since 2016) and Sweden (2020) in country-wide force policy. In 2018, the Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, a branch of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE; the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organisation) implemented an adapted version of the SAI into their standard operation post-incident reporting procedure.
