The art of inquiring: examining the quality of adult eyewitness interviews in the Netherlands

Eyewitness interviews are critical to police investigations. The Generic Witness Interview, used by Dutch police, aligns with best practices to enhance accurate recall. However, research on its implementation is scarce, and existing studies indicate that Dutch police frequently use inappropriate questions, deviating from guidelines. We assessed the quality of 103 real-life Dutch eyewitness interviews to evaluate questioning strategies and adherence to the Generic Witness Interview. We also examined whether investigators probed witnesses about factors that can impair eyewitness accuracy. Most of the questions used were appropriate (69%), with probing questions being most prevalent. Inappropriate questions (31%) mostly consisted of closed questions, while suggestive and forced-choice questions were rare. Yet, interviewers frequently missed opportunities to inquire about factors that can impair eyewitness accuracy (84%). These findings suggest that while Dutch police generally adhere to best practices, further training is recommended. Policy implications for police training and interview standardization are discussed.