NCJ Number
208933
Journal
Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services Volume: 1 Dated: 2003 Pages: 5-18
Date Published
2003
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This article presents recommendations on the best way to collect and preserve eyewitness evidence in an effort to reduce the rate of eyewitness errors.
Abstract
Evidence suggests that the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions in the United States is mistaken eyewitness identifications. Although similar estimates have not been made for Canada, several cases have suggested the existence of similar problems. The authors of the current article draw on more than 20 years of research to offer a set of recommendations that, if followed, will reduce the rate of eyewitness errors while increasing the accuracy of eyewitness identifications. The recommendations go above the minimum standards of police procedures for collecting and preserving eyewitness evidence that are set forth in the 1999 publication Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement (Guide) to offer “best practices” recommendations that compliment those contained in the Guide. The recommendations fall into the categories of composing lineups, instructions to witnesses prior to viewing the lineup, conducting the identification procedure for a photo lineup, and recording identification results. The discussion of each recommendation includes a series of steps to be followed, the rationale for those steps, and comments on their implementation. Adequate background knowledge is presented so that the recommendations can be tailored to fit the needs of specific situations. In order to ensure that these recommendations are effective in practice, future research should focus on their effect on outcome variables such as arrest rates, police satisfaction, conviction rates, and court challenges. Recommendations, notes