True or False: You should avoid leading questions when interviewing.

True or False: You should avoid leading questions when interviewing.

• A. False
• B. Sometimes
• C. True
• D. Only with witnesses who are reluctant

Answer: (C)

When interviewing, the goal is to gather accurate information without bias. Leading questions push a witness toward a specific answer and can shape their memory, which can introduce errors or omissions. The safest approach is to use open-ended questions that let the person describe what happened in their own words, such as “Tell me what happened,” followed by neutral, non-leading probes to clarify details. This keeps the account natural and more reliable, and it applies to all witnesses, not just those who seem reluctant. So the statement is true.

When interviewing, the goal is to gather accurate information without bias. Leading questions push a witness toward a specific answer and can shape their memory, which can introduce errors or omissions. The safest approach is to use open-ended questions that let the person describe what happened in their own words, such as “Tell me what happened,” followed by neutral, non-leading probes to clarify details. This keeps the account natural and more reliable, and it applies to all witnesses, not just those who seem reluctant. So the statement is true.