Divulge the History
In order to effectively gather the information about the offender you must establish a relationship that allows the interviewees to be open and able to divulge the offender's history and what they know of their families’ life.
"Remember you are telling the court – this is what the offender and other people referred to in the report told us. You are letting the Court draw their conclusions, so you are not providing ‘definitive answers’ like a PSR.”
Be prepared to deal with what may be an emotional experience for the Offender and other people you may speak to for the purposes of your report.”
Also, be sure the Offender and others have the ‘capacity’ to provide information to you. They must be mentally prepared to disclose in an open and honest manner. Certainly if their mental capacity is diminished by alcohol or other medication then you should reschedule the interview.”