ASSIGNMENT
Talking to police officers, such as at border checks or during investigations, is usually an uncommon experience and can make people feel nervous or stressed. So far, research has mainly focused on ways to help police get better cooperation and more information from the people they interview, often by building a friendly connection.
\Most of this research is done with and aimed at people who are considered neurotypical—meaning they don’t have special learning or mental health challenges. Only recently have police begun to adopt policies to better support vulnerable witnesses and suspects. People who are vulnerable often have some legal protections, but these are usually only provided if their vulnerabilities are clearly visible or backed up by a medical diagnosis.
There is also generally limited training for police officers on how to conduct interviews in a way that is best suited for people with less obvious vulnerabilities, such as those with learning difficulties like dyslexia or individuals on the autism spectrum.
With this project, we want to talk to neurodivergent people who have had encounters with the police. We will ask them 1) about their experiences and 2) what they think police should understand or do when dealing with neurodivergent individuals.
Within this internship, you will be based within the PCRS department. In this project, you would help create a questionnaire and interview questions to collect information from neurodivergent people.
KEYWORDS
Investigative interview; vulnerability; neurodiversity; Autism Spectrum Disorder; ADHD.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ORGANIZATION
The section Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety at the University of Twente has a distinctive and unique profile in the areas of risk perception and risk communication, conflict and crisis management and the antecedents of risky, antisocial and criminal behaviour. It currently includes 16 research staff members and 8 PhD students. We work from both a psychology and an engineering perspective and cooperate with other scientific disciplines, based on the “high tech, human touch” profile of the University of Twente.
AVAILABILITY
Block 1B. This internship is open to 1 or 2 students.
INTERESTED?
Please contact the internship coordinator Miriam Oostinga (m.s.d.oostinga@utwente.nl).