A former top cop says artificial intelligence avatars could be one of the best tools there is to help police investigate crimes committed against children.
Interviewing child victims of crime is one of the most heartbreaking, but vital, job our police face.
A Current Affair was given a first look at the new technology that could help authorities land more convictions.
The specially-created child avatars represent any age, gender and can speak any language.
They are programmed with over 2000 conversations to react and respond like a real child would during an investigative process, giving police, child safety and doctors the opportunity to get evidence from at risk children.
Griffith University’s Professor Martine Powell, is founding Director of the Centre for Investigative Interviewing.
She said interviewing within the context of child protection is very challenging.
“Children even as young as four can be reliable witnesses if they’re questioned well,” Powell said.
“As with any practical skill, it requires simulated practice.”
In cases of alleged abuse, obtaining a child’s statement in an interview setting is crucial.
Often it provides the only available evidence that could lead to a conviction.
But even specially trained police interviewers can face difficulties gathering reliable information.
“That’s what this avatar is all about,” Martine said.
“It’s about providing mock interviews, where people can practice under situations where they might be tempted to deviate into more leading questions.
“A doctor might need to interview a child about a sensitive matter involving their bodies, so many different professionals could value from this technology.”
Former child protection detective Dan Purdie has seen the technology, which has been trialled by officers in child protection.
“Police are relying often wholly or overwhelmingly on the version, the oral testimony given by the child,” Purdie said.
“A detective going into an interview with a young child that has been abused, they realise that it’s A grade. They cannot make mistakes.”
During his 25 years on the frontline, the now Shadow Minister for police investigated some of Queensland’s most high-profile child abuse cases.
“To date, mock interviews are done with adults pretending to be children, if you’re leading up to a big complex interview,” he said.
“A tool like this is revolutionary will upskill our police to not only get justice for victims, but prevent more further offenses being committed in the future.”
Dan believes the roll-out of this kind of technology could be key to landing more convictions through better trained officers.
“To be in a situation where young officers can do their training, make those mistakes in a virtual simulator, I think is next level,” he said,
“It will equip our frontline detectives in helping to solve and prevent child abuse from occurring in the future. I think it has to be done.
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