Difference between revisions of "Showups, Lineups, and Photo Arrays"

From Criminal Defense Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
Line 7: Line 7:
 
==Showup==
 
==Showup==
  
 
+
==Recommended Police Guidelines for Showups==
 +
#Document the eyewitness's description carefully prior to the showup.
 +
#Whenever practical, transport the eyewitness to the location of the suspect. Showups should not be conducted at law enforcement headquarters or other public safety buildings.
 +
#Specifically instruct eyewitnesses that the real perpetrator may or may not be present.
 +
#Showups should not be conducted with more than one witness present at a time. If identification is conducted separately for more than one witness, witnesses should not be permitted to communicate before or after any procedures regarding the identification of the suspect.
 +
#The same suspect should not be presented to the same witness more than once.
 +
#Showup suspects should not be required to put on clothing worn by the perpetrator. They may be asked to speak words uttered by the perpetrator or to perform other actions of the perpetrator.
 +
#Words or conduct of any type by officers that may suggest to the witness that the individual is or may be the perpetrator should be scrupulously avoided.
 +
#Assess eyewitness confidence immediately following an identification
  
 
==Lineup==
 
==Lineup==
Line 17: Line 25:
 
[[File:photoarray.jpg]]
 
[[File:photoarray.jpg]]
  
 +
==Recommended Police Guidelines for Lineup and Photo Arrays==
 +
#Choose non-suspect fillers that fit the witness's description and that minimize any suggestiveness that might point toward a suspect;
 +
 +
#Specifically instruct eyewitnesses that the real perpetrator may or may not be present and that the administrator does not know which person is the suspect;
 +
#Present the suspects and fillers sequentially (one at a time) rather than simultaneously (all at once.) This encourages absolute judgments of each person presented, because eyewitnesses are unable to see the subjects all at once and are unable to know when they have seen the last subject;
 +
#Assess eyewitness confidence immediately following an identification. Carefully document a witness's response before any feedback from law enforcement;
 +
#Avoid multiple identification procedures in which the same witness views the same suspect more than once.
  
 +
==Composite Sketch==
  
==Composite Sketch==
+
Inaccurate information from outside an eyewitness's memory can taint development of a composite. As with photo arrays, live lineups, and showups, composites can be compromised if the witness's description relies on information learned from external sources after the crime or if the person administering the procedure either unintentionally supplies the witness with information or unintentionally incorporates outside knowledge of the case into the production of the composite. For this reason, when a composite is used, double-blind concepts & principles in which both the witness and the person making the composite are unaware of external information about the case may be helpful. It may not be feasible to conduct a completely double-blind procedure for a variety of reasons, in which case witnesses should be told to rely on their independent recollection of the event - not information learned from other sources - and administrators must be mindful of any natural tendency to incorporate prior knowledge into the process.
  
Yet another form of identification that occasionally occurs is a composite sketch. Typically, a composite sketch is created either by computer, or with the assistance of an artist, at the direction of the eyewitness shortly after the crime has occurred.
+
The case of Charles T. Dubbs exemplifies another problem inherent in composite sketches:
  
 
[[File:compositesketch.jpg]]
 
[[File:compositesketch.jpg]]

Revision as of 12:42, 4 July 2010