Category: Investigations

PR: To Minimize Liability Threat, SAVE Urges Immediate Discontinuation of Trauma-Informed Investigations

Post author By saveadmin
Post date November 4, 2019

Contact: Rebecca Stewart

Telephone: 513-479-3335

To Minimize Liability Threat, SAVE Urges Immediate Discontinuation of Trauma-Informed Investigations

WASHINGTON / November 4, 2019 – A scientific article published last week has strongly criticized the use of “trauma-informed’ investigations on college campuses. Trauma-informed methods attribute inconsistencies and contradictions in a complainant’s statements to the trauma she allegedly experienced (1). Titled “Title IX Investigations: The Importance of Training Investigators in Evidence-Based Approaches to Interviewing” (2), the article provides a detailed analysis of the research basis for the use of trauma-informed methods by Title IX investigators.

Written by Iowa State University professors Christian Meissner and Adrienne Lyles, the article concludes:

— “We know of no scientific studies that support this contention of neurobiological response differences between perpetrators and victims.”

— “A search of the available research literature yielded no published, peer-reviewed studies on the efficacy or effectiveness of FETI.” Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews, known as “FETI,” are a trauma-informed method widely used on college campuses.

The Meissner and Lyles analysis was the third article published in recent months that analyzed and refuted trauma-informed precepts. In September, the Center for Prosecutor Integrity issued a report on trauma-informed concepts that concluded, “The impacts of trauma on memories and recall are widely variable. The stress accompanying and resulting from trauma may produce strong memories, impair memories, have no effect on memories, or increase the possibility of false memories.” (3)

A third article specifically warned of the liability risk of Title IX administrators attending such guilt-presuming training courses: “You will need to assess whether you can afford to have a non-empirical, biased training on your resume in this age of litigation,” according to the Association of Title IX Administrators (4).

The use of trauma-informed and other unproven investigative methods places universities at liability risk. A 2017 analysis of 130 lawsuits against universities found investigative failures were the most commonly listed allegation (5). A 2019 analysis of lawsuits in which the judge ruled against the university identified dozens of cases in which biased investigations were listed as significant allegations of fact (6).

Investigative journalist Emily Yoffee has written about trauma-informed philosophy, “The spread of an inaccurate science of trauma is an object lesson in how good intentions can overtake critical thinking, to potentially harmful effect….University professors and administrators should understand this. And they, of all people, should identify and call out junk science.” (7)

Citations:

http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/sa/trauma-informed/
Christian A. Meissner, Adrienne M. Lyles. Title IX Investigations: The Importance of Training Investigators in Evidence-Based Approaches to Interviewing. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 2019.
http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Review-of-Neurobiology-of-Trauma-9.1.2019.docx
https://cdn.atixa.org/website-media/atixa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/20123741/2019-ATIXA-Trauma-Position-Statement-Final-Version.pdf
https://www.proskauer.com/report/title-ix-report-the-accused-08-28-2017
http://www.saveservices.org/sexual-assault/complaints-and-lawsuits/lawsuit-analysis/

7. The Bad Science Behind Campus Response to Sexual Assault. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/09/the-bad-science-behind-campus-response-to-sexual-assault/539211/

Investigations Trauma Informed Victim-Centered Investigations Violence Against Women Act

VAWA Fresh Start: ‘Trauma-Informed’ Provisions in VAWA are Junk Science

Post author By saveadmin
Post date October 29, 2019

The House version of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization – H.R. 1585 – features a Demonstration Program on Trauma-Informed Training for Law Enforcement. Section 206 states:

The Attorney General shall award grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities to carry out the demonstration program under this section by implementing evidence-based or promising policies and practices to incorporate trauma-informed techniques.

“Trauma-informed” theorizes that victims of domestic violence and sexual assault are so traumatized by the experience that they are unable to recall key details of the incident, and may offer contradictory accounts.

Despite its intuitive appeal, scientific research reaches a very different conclusion. According to neuroscientists Sujeeta Bhatt and Susan Brandon:[1]

The impacts of trauma on memories and recall are widely variable. The stress accompanying and resulting from trauma may produce strong memories, impair memories, have no effect on memories, or increase the possibility of false memories.

Now, a second article has come out that highlights the dubious science behind trauma-informed. The article is written by Iowa State University researchers Christian Meissner and Adrienne Lyles, who are leading an international research team to develop interview methods for the FBI and CIA to reduce false confessions. The article summary emphasizes:[2]

Some of the training programs Lyles and Meissner examined suggest that investigators can determine the veracity of a Title IX complaint by watching the behavior of the respondent during the interview. The researchers say there is no evidence to support the effectiveness of such an approach. They also found no scientific evidence that victims and perpetrators have different neurobiological responses to the same event, as some programs claimed. [emphasis added]

Rather than relying on hocus-pocus notions of “trauma-informed,” Meissner urges:

By asking open-ended questions, investigators avoid inserting any bias. If they have information from social media, video surveillance and witnesses, they can use that evidence strategically to assess credibility of the subject and verify the information they have collected.

For years, the Violence Against Women Act has been based on unproven criminal justice theories and gender ideology. So it’s no surprise there is no evidence of VAWA’s effectiveness. This time, we have a historic opportunity to take a Fresh Start. We need to assure that VAWA respects Constitutional principles, avoids bias, and is based on solid science.

Citations:

[1] http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Review-of-Neurobiology-of-Trauma-9.1.2019.docx

[2] Training for Title IX Investigators Lacks Tested, Effective Techniques. Science News. October 28, 2019. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191028093945.htm

Investigations Trauma Informed

‘Trauma-Informed’ Bulletin Is Replete with Misrepresentations and Mistakes: CPI Report

Post author By saveadmin
Post date September 3, 2019

‘Trauma-Informed’ Bulletin Is Replete with Misrepresentations and Mistakes: CPI Report

WASHINGTON / September 3, 2019 – A new Center for Prosecutor Integrity report documents factual errors and faulty conclusions contained in a 2019 bulletin published by End Violence Against Women International. Titled, “Understanding the Neurobiology of Trauma and Implications for Interviewing Victims,” the EVAWI bulletin purports to summarize the research on the neurobiology of trauma and provide recommendations for law enforcement personnel who investigate allegations of sexual assault.

The new CPI report was researched and written by behavioral neuroscientists Sujeeta Bhatt, PhD and Susan Brandon, PhD.

“Trauma-informed” proponents claim that persons who experience sexual assault are unable to accurately recall the incident, and that inconsistencies in their accounts should be taken as proof that the assault occurred. But citing numerous studies, Bhatt and Brandon reject this theory, concluding, “The impacts of trauma on memories and recall are widely variable. The stress accompanying and resulting from trauma may produce strong memories, impair memories, have no effect on memories, or increase the possibility of false memories.”

Bhatt and Brandon argue that criminal investigators do not need to use special interview methods with purported trauma victims: “Examination of studies across these domains did not reveal any evidence to support the notion that victims of potentially traumatic events require interview methods that are different from those that have been shown to be most effective for accounts of events that are presumably not traumatic.”

Their critique is more fundamental, saying an “undue emphasis on brain science increases the likelihood of hindering an investigation” because it can promote confirmation bias and undue stereotypes. The new CPI report is available online (1).

Separately, the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA) recently published a Position Paper on “Trauma-Informed Training and Neurobiology of Trauma” that sharply criticizes the assumptions, precepts, and methods of trauma-informed advocates (2).

Citations:

Press release is posted here: http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/pr/trauma-informed-bulletin-is-replete-with-misrepresentations-and-mistakes-cpi-report/

Investigations

CORRUPT COPS: Planted Evidence, Coerced Confessions, and now, ‘Conviction-Oriented’ Investigations

Post author By saveadmin
Post date August 7, 2019

Police misconduct is a long-standing problem in our criminal justice system. Examples include fabrication of evidence, high-pressure interrogations, bribery, and more. Now there’s a new way to corrupt the process: Conviction-oriented investigations. AND IT’S BEING ACTIVELY PROMOTED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.

Ethics codes require investigators to follow the evidence without bias or preconception. For example, the International Association of Chiefs of Police ethics code states, “The law enforcement officer shall be concerned equally in the prosecution of the wrong-doer and the defense of the innocent. He shall ascertain what constitutes evidence and shall present such evidence impartially and without malice.”[1]

FAIRNESS GOING OUT OF FASHION?

On May 29, 2019, the DOJ Office for Victims of Crime presented an online training session titled, “Law Enforcement Response: Approaching Your Work with a Trauma–Informed Lens.”[2] The session was conducted by retired sheriff’s deputy Marcus Bruning, described as a “nationally recognized expert, a 28 year veteran of public safety.”

Bruning did not state that the main objective of a criminal investigation is to obtain the facts and details of the alleged incident. Instead, the investigator’s main job, according to Bruning, is to avoid re-traumatizing the “victim” — ignoring the fact that in the event of a false allegation, the real “victim” is the person who is wrongfully accused.

CONVICTION-ORIENTED

Most troubling of all, Bruning advised law enforcement personnel to take a “conviction-oriented approach,” which means investigations should be carried out with an eye to “determining what elements of the crime must be proven and what will be challenged in court.” In essence, he argued to work the case from the position that a crime has been committed (because the “victim” says it did) and that the suspect committed that crime.

The main focus of courtroom testimony should be the feelings of the “victim” before, during, and after the alleged incident, Bruning insisted. This provides the prosecutor, jury, and judge “an opportunity to experience a traumatic event with understanding and without blaming the victim.”

DOUG WILDER, VICTIM OF A CONVICTION-ORIENTED INVESTIGATION?

On July 12, the Washington Post reported on former Virginia governor Douglas Wilder, accused of non-consensual kissing of a female. But Wilder said he was railroaded by a biased investigator who glossed over inconsistencies in the accuser’s testimony and excluded important exculpatory evidence from the investigative report.[3] In other words, the investigator cared more about getting a conviction than seeking out the truth.

The Center for Prosecutor Integrity asks persons to contact Attorney General William Barr and urge him to reject biased, “conviction-oriented” investigations. Because justice is at stake.

Citations:

[1] http://www.prosecutorintegrity.org/sa/ethics-codes/

[2]https://www.ovcttac.gov/ovcttac_assets/eblast/ExpertQA-Eblast-May-2019.HTML

[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/former-va-governor-doug-wilder-says-claims-against-him-are-untrue-days-after-investigation-finds-he-kissed-a-20-year-old-student/2019/07/12/0c3286dc-a4b5-11e9-b8c8-75dae2607e60_story.html