The efficacy of the Delphi method  for adapting cognitive interviewing instructions into culturally and linguistically diverse international policing contexts

In interviewing witnesses, the Cognitive Interviewing (CI) technique has become an international benchmark with the potential to significantly reduce coercive tactics in police interviews. However, this requires the adaptation of CI to new languages, cultures and legal systems. This article demonstrates that such adaptation is a more complex exercise than merely translating the training manuals. It proposes an evidence-based translation procedure known as the Delphi method using rounds of questionnaires with experts in relevant fields. It demonstrates transparently the process of adapting the CI instructions to non-English-speaking countries using an example from Indonesia. Importantly, the proposed method takes into account the pragma-linguistic context of police interviews in Indonesia. This article provides a road map for adapting investigative interviewing to culturally and linguistically diverse international communities required by the implementation of the 2021 United Nations Declaration of ‘The Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering’.