GOLDSMITHS AND PORTSMOUTH UNIVERSITIES PARTNER WITH KULPA TO IMPROVE EARLY EVIDENCE CAPTURE

Proven evidence-gathering methodology via the Kulpa app will help victims and witnesses of crime during key stages of investigation

 Goldsmiths, University of London and the University of Portsmouth have announced a new partnership with digital evidence platform Kulpa to deploy the Self-Administered Interview (SAI), helping victims and witnesses of crime provide more detailed and accurate accounts at the earliest stages of an investigation.

 The SAI is an evidence-based methodology that helps victims and witnesses capture accurate, detailed accounts following an incident, preserving important information while events remain fresh in their minds. Through the partnership, Kulpa will integrate the SAI into its online platform, enabling victims and witnesses to provide more detailed and accurate initial accounts alongside supporting digital evidence, including photographs, videos, documents and audio recordings. 

With more than 70% of recorded crime currently unable to proceed because of evidential difficulties, the integration of the SAI into Kulpa’s platform directly addresses the challenge of securing accurate information and supporting evidence at key phases of an investigation. 

Simon Franc, CEO and Founder at Kulpa said: “At a time when evidential difficulties remain one of the biggest barriers to bringing offenders to justice, this partnership represents an important opportunity to combine leading academic research with practical technology. Our shared goal is simple: to help preserve better evidence earlier, improve outcomes for victims and support more effective investigations.” 

Prof. Lorraine Hope, Professor of Applied Cognitive Psychology at the University of Portsmouth said: “We now have a sophisticated understanding of how memory works, how information is forgotten, and critically how it can be supported to enable detailed and accurate reporting. The Self-Administered Interview translates decades of cognitive and forensic psychology research into a practical tool that helps people provide more detailed accounts when events are still fresh in memory.” 

Prof. Fiona Gabbert, Professor of Applied Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London said: “Some of the most valuable evidence in an investigation exists only in a person's memory. Yet memory is not a recording device; it fades, changes, and becomes harder to access over time. The earlier we can support people to report what they remember, the better the information available to investigators. What makes this partnership so important is that it brings a scientifically validated approach to memory retrieval into a digital environment that can be used at scale.” 

The collaboration between Goldsmiths, University of London, the University of Portsmouth and Kulpa is particularly relevant in cases of violence against women and girls, where preserving detailed victim accounts and supporting evidence at the earliest opportunity can play a vital role in improving criminal justice outcomes and increasing the likelihood of successful prosecutions.