The Impact of interviewer working hours on police interviews with children

Fatigue resulting from unpredictable or extended working conditions is a factor that negatively impacts the performance of police officers. In this study, we considered how investigative interviewing of children is influenced by interviewer working conditions. We examined two working conditions concerning when interviews were conducted: (a) during early duty shift and (b) an hour before the end of an interviewer’s duty shift and after the end of a shift. We analysed 102 police interviews with children and identified clues that interviews which commenced during early duty shift had more appropriate approaches than interviews in the other condition. Inappropriate approaches were not significantly affected by interviewer working conditions. These outcomes suggest considering new knowledge specific to the behaviour of interviewers according to working conditions and provide promising foundations for further research

The impact of investing in the good interviewers policy of practice (IGIpop) on police interviews with children

It is important to elicit the best evidence from children during investigative interviews. Many of recent improvements (such as extensive training) are costly to implement preventing police forces with small budgets from adopting them. A policy is needed that can benefit all forces irrespective of their financial resources. We assessed a new approach: Investing in the Good Interviewers: Policy of Practice (IGIpop). IGIpop suggests that all interviews should be conducted using 'good' interviewers. In 2016 we evaluated the performance of interviewers in a police force and identified the good interviewers. IGIpop was implemented in 2017 when five good interviewers were chosen to conduct all of the interviews with children alleging sexual abuse. We analysed 102 interviews and assessed how IGIpop impacted the quality of interviews. As expected, appropriate interviewing approaches increased and inappropriate interviewing approaches decreased after IGIpop. IGIpop achieved an important improvement in the quality of interviews with no additional training or costs

Structural decoupling in a convergent forearc setting (southern Crete, Eastern Mediterranean)

A multidisciplinary approach is used to investigate the structure of the southern Cretan margin, which is located in one of the most seismically active forearc regions in Europe. Bathymetric, seismic-reflection, and fault plane solution data were used to identify the main tectonic features on the margin, correlating their evolution with the main sedimentary sequences recognized on Crete. In contrast to the majority of forearc settings in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, southern Crete is a region of predominantly oblique movement above well-defined detachment zones. North-dipping thrust faults identified on seismic-reflection profiles reveal significant crustal shortening during the Miocene due to the westward propagation of the Hellenic fold-and-thrust system. In addition, east-dipping thrust faults rooted on top of pre-Neogene strata were also identified, but only a few of these thrusts affect Neogene to Holocene strata. Small-scale domes derived from evaporitic (Messinian) intrusions deform Pliocene–Quaternary strata. West- and east-dipping normal faults were also recognized within the Mesozoic and Cenozoic successions, and these are related to regional extension during forearc convergence. In such a setting, the fault-bounded continental slope of Crete effectively separates a region of uplift (Crete) from subsiding troughs to the south. Our work shows that structural segmentation at depth is complex, with multiple crustal levels recording contrasting styles of deformation and distinct moment-tensor solutions. This complexity derives from the oblique style of convergence recorded south of Crete, which reactivates distinct crustal levels depending on their rheology and relative degree of metamorphism inherited during Alpine compression. As a result, a strong correlation between seafloor morphology and transtensional movements is recorded in the upper 10–15 km of the crust, while transpression prevailed after the Serravallian below these depths

Correlation between the structural pattern and the development of the hydrographic network in a portion of the western thessaly basin (Greece)

In the context of the present study the structural pattern in the Western Thessaly Basin (Greece) has been examined, based on structural data collected from the entire study area that were further correlated to the hydrographic network. The structural pattern of the area was revealed from tectonic analysis. Additionally, the topography, stratigraphy and sedimentology of the study area were taken into account. GIS techniques were used to map the spatial distribution of the geological and tectonic features on the topographic relief of the area. The oldest structures are contractional in nature, deformed by normal faulting related to the extensional episodes initiated in Serravallian times. It is inferred that the orientation of the stress field in the area has changed several times: the N-S stress field which was dominant during Late Serravallian times changed to NW-SE (Messinian- Zanclian) up to E-W in Zanclian and subsequently to roughly NNW-SSE (in late Piacencian). The NE-SW stress that was dominant in Pleistocene became N-S in later times. In addition, some changes in orientation are also indicated for the transitional periods of the pre-mentioned extensional episodes, possibly related to local events, or as a block-related deformation. The development of the 7th order streams is probably related to the N-S extensional faulting initiated in Pliocene times, while the dominant direction of the 6th, 5th and 4th order streams is possibly connected with the presence of the NNE-SSW and NW-SE extensional faults. Finally, the lower order streams are probably related to the most recent E-W striking normal faults. © Versita sp. z o.o