ABSTRACT
Recounting an event with dramatic or persuasive goals can lead to predictable and lasting distortions of memory for the event through selective rehearsal, selective emphasis, and reorganization, specifically for memory. This chapter considers how the many layers of people and procedures within it can systematically amplify risks to memory and judgment. The criminal justice system is becoming more receptive to techniques that might help to preserve and convey witnesses' memory, and research psychologists and the press continue to educate the public on its fallibility. The danger is particularly high in the context of witness interviews because the investigator typically has incomplete access to ground truth and is thus at risk of asking questions that are inappropriate or that include incorrect assumptions. The framing of officers' narratives to themselves and each other can influence bias toward a suspect, the scope of both witness and suspect interviews, and the officers' own subsequent courtroom testimony.
