News  Berkshire DA's Office Hosts First Western Mass Regional Forensic Interviewers Peer Review

PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office hosted the first Western Mass Regional Forensic Interviewers Peer Review on Monday. 

The three Western Massachusetts District Attorney’s Office, Berkshire, Northwestern, and Hampden, and respective law enforcement interviewers came together to help improve the work each interviewer does in gathering the necessary information from children who were abused to hold the abusers accountable.

The offices use a multi-disciplinary team approach intended to ensure the accuracy of the information gathered from children and limit the number of times a child needs to be interviewed. The forensic interviewer joins social workers from the Department of Children and Families, an assistant district attorney, a family service advocate, SAIN team member, and the investigating police officer on a collaborative and unified approach.

Victim Witness Advocate Nakeida Bethel-Smith shared a video of an interview she conducted and asked for feedback from others as to what was done well and what could have been done better. The constant feedback from others in the field with different experiences helps improve the difficult work each forensic interviewer does.

The meeting also gave the interviewers time to talk through particularly difficult situations others had experienced and share possible resources. 

The regional meeting was a first, an idea first presented by Hampden Assistant District Attorney Rachael Eramo in the summer, and will be held quarterly, rotating among the three district attorney offices. The next one will be in Hampden County, where an interviewer there will be presenting their work for review.

The job of forensic interviewers is difficult but also vitally important. This brand new collaboration to share resources and experiences provides value to all Western Massachusetts forensic interviewers to deepen their expertise in the field. 

The number of forensic investigators has increased from two to eight in the Berkshires, including one fluent in Spanish. The training also featured a conversation around best strategies for interviewing non-English speaking children and bridging cultural gaps.