[1] Generally, investigative interviewing "involves eliciting a detailed and accurate account of an event or situation from a person to assist decision-making".
[4] The stark difference between these two approaches to police interviewing has led some authors to argue that the term "interrogation" should be scrapped altogether as it is inherently coercive and aimed at obtaining a confession.
In the interim report dated 5 August 2016 to the UN General Assembly of the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, the investigative interviewing method is presented at length as an example of best practice.
These improvements have contributed to making cognitive interviews a more effective tool in gathering accurate eyewitness testimonies, ultimately leading to better outcomes in investigations.
The PEACE model (Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure and Evaluate) for police interviewing was developed in the United Kingdom in response to a number of documented forced confessions and associated wrongful convictions in the 1980s and 1990s.
[8] The acronym used for the training programme for the Norwegian police is KREATIV (or CREATIVE in English) and is composed of phrases reflecting the values and principles upon which the method is based.
Professor Ray Bull and DCI David Murthwaite (Merseyside Police) were brought from the UK to Norway to help train the trainers and initiate the programme.