Participation of an expert psychologist in the interrogation of a witness in the light of Polish criminal law

Agata Orzechowska, Krzysztof Eichstaedt , Piotr Gałecki

2021 Oct

Introduction

Forensic psychology is a subdiscipline of applied psychology and deals with collection, examination and presentation of evidence for judicial purposes. The subject of interest of a forensic psychologist, referred to as a forensic expert in the field of psychology, is a person participating in the preparatory stage or court proceedings as:

(a) a suspected or accused person of a prohibited act; (b) a victim of a crime who is also a witness of the prohibited act; (c) a witness of a prohibited act.

Psychological knowledge from the early nineteenth century was used by German lawyers in criminal cases, seeking for relationship between the value of testimonies and individual characteristics of the interrogated persons. Psychologists first appeared in the courtrooms at the end of the 19th century, presenting studies on the dependence of the credibility of testimonies on the mental features of witnesses.

The relationship between the value of the evidence obtained as a result of the interrogation and the way in which the procedural act was carried out was clearly noticed in the twentieth century, which brought a broader perspective on the issue of testimonies. Humanization of law and dynamic development of psychology have consolidated the importance of this discipline of science in solving legal problems.
Until now, it has influenced the shaping of legal regulations and the state of the psychological knowledge of experts. The possibility of interrogation of a witness with the participation of a psychologist is also provided, among others, by German penal procedure. It is also worth mentioning that there is a Child Advocacy Center, which is related to the testimony of children in the USA, and which was created to
help children who are victims of sexual and physical abuse. The purpose of the center established in the USA is to create and develop a system for detecting abuse against children and to ensure that they are interrogated in friendly conditions and by persons who have the necessary preparation for it. Psychologists play a significant role during such interrogations.

The subject of psychological opinion in criminal matters may be, among others, the analysis of witnesses’ testimonies in terms of their evidential value [2, 6]. The role of the psychologist in criminal proceedings in connection with participation in the interrogation is reduced to:

(1) interrogation of a witness with the participation of a psychologist, regardless of the age of the witness and the alleged act (Article 192 § 2);
(2) interrogation of the aggrieved party under 15 years of age (Article 185a of the CCP);
(3) interrogation of a witness under the age of 15 (Article 185b of the CCP)
(4) interrogation of the victim as a witness, in cases concerning following crimes:
a) rape and extortion of sexual activity;
b) sexual exploitation of insanity or helplessness;
c) sexual exploitation of dependence (Article 185c of the CCP) [7].

The aim of the paper is to acknowledge the need to be aware of each other’s competencies and expectations by the procedural bodies and an expert psychologist, and to learn about the possibilities and limitations of expert opinions issued in criminal cases in relation to the psychological assessment of a witness.

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Address: Agata Orzechowska
Department of Adult Psychiatry
Medical University of Lodz
91-229 Łódź, Aleksandrowska Street 159