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384 An HR Guide to Workplace Fraud and Criminal Behaviour
Explain the process to the witness.

Example : ‘We are going to try some memory retrieval techniques to see if we can dig more
deeply. Some may seem a bit strange, but don’t worry. I guarantee some of them will work
and you may be surprised just how much detail we find.’

Then try the techniques in Table 9.9.

Table 9.9 Memory retrieval cues Example of your prompt
Memory retrieval cues
Objective Go back to the very start of that day and speak
Context re-instatement it out loud as though it were happening now in
Replicate the scene and circumstances when the the present tense. ‘Robin Blind is walking into
witness encoded his memory my office … I am speaking on the telephone …’

Visualization Try to picture the scene. You were in your office.
Picture the scene Let’s do a Mind Map of all the things that were
Draw diagrams there when Robin walked in …
Get the witness to access his visual memory stores Did he touch anything?
by getting his eyes to focus upwards What was odd about him?
How would you imagine his wife and family?
Change perspective What sort of things do you think he likes doing?
Get a different view What would his house look like?
I am going to play your role. I am sitting at the
Reverse or random sequence desk and you are Robin. Now go on
Break the chronological sequence
Just imagine you were Robin. What would you
Humour (of the gallows variety) have noticed most in your office?
Cue the humour memory stores What would your secretary have seen?

Peripheral cues Let’s reverse things. Start from the moment
Trigger memory on dates, weather etc. Robin walked out of your office and let’s go
Emotions, feelings and thoughts backwards
Cue the witness’s emotional memory stores by
looking downwards Imagine Robin at a fancy dress ball. What would
he be dressed as?
Non-happenings Complete the sentence, Robin has had a bad day
because …

Can you remember what was in the national
papers that day?

How did you feel when Robin asked you to sign
the form?
What did you think was going on?
What did Robin smell like?

What did Robin not do that he should have
done?
Why didn’t he ask you to go to his office?