What Makes A Police Lineup Effective?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

In a simultaneous lineup (used most often in police departments around the country),[5]

the eyewitness views all the people or photos at the same time

. … Make sure you look at all the photos.” Such a statement may effectively lead the witness away from the filler.

Are police lineups effective?

The results were: Correct identification rate:

80% for sequential lineups and 76% for simultaneous lineups

(total). 78% for sequential lineups and 80% for simultaneous lineups when cues were strong.

What is the point of police lineups?

Police lineups in California are

used for a witness to identify a crime suspect among other similar looking people

. In theory, a police lineup places the crime suspect among similar-looking individuals for the crime’s eyewitness to identify, without knowing from the lineup itself who the suspect is.

How accurate are lineups?

That is, assuming the equal variance model is correct,

35% of the photo lineups contained a guilty suspect

and 65% contained an innocent suspect. At first glance, this relatively low estimate of the proportion of lineups containing a guilty suspect might be regarded as problematic.

Why are sequential lineups better?

According to the absolute-relative judgment theory (Wells, 1984), sequential lineups result in

better witness discrimination because the format encourages people to make a strict judgment against their own memory

.

How do police make a lineup?

One way to perform a police lineup is

to have the eyewitness identify a suspect during a live lineup

. This process usually involves having the suspect and four or five other people line up against a wall. Another common way to conduct a police lineup is to present the eyewitness with a series of pictures.

Do police still do line ups?


Line-ups are also not compulsory in NSW

, and, as such, suspects cannot be forced to take part in one – which Inspector Taylor believed was another reason that they were not used regularly by police to build cases. But despite all this, courts still recognised line-ups as “the best form of identification”, he said.

Is a lineup a critical stage?

United States v. Wade, together with Gilbert v. California, created the Wade-Gilbert Rule. Under this rule, the Supreme court held post-indictment lineups are

a critical stage of the criminal prosecution

and the defendant is entitled to have their counsel present at critical stages under the Sixth Amendment.

Can you refuse to be in a lineup?

As a condition of granting bail or OR release,

a judge may require a suspect to participate in a lineup

. … Unless they have a court order, the police cannot compel suspects who have not been arrested to participate in a lineup.

What is a fair lineup?

In their descriptions, eyewitnesses often refer to a culprit’s distinctive facial features. However, in a police lineup, selecting the only member with the described distinctive feature is unfair to the suspect and provides the police with little further information.

Why are police lineups unreliable?

Unfortunately, tests like this rely on the accuracy of a witness’s memory and memory is not always as reliable as we think. Additionally, police line ups are conducted in

a way that may

bias witnesses to choose the person investigators suspect.

How can I improve my eyewitness accuracy?


Ensure that police put in writing

why a suspect is believed to be guilty of a specific crime before placing him or her in a lineup. Use a lineup with several people instead of what is known as a showup only featuring a single suspect. Avoid repetition of a lineup with the same suspect and same eyewitness.

What happens after a photo lineup?

Once the photo lineup evidence

goes to court

however, a criminal defense attorney will be able to challenge witnesses during cross-examination.

What are sequential line ups?

“A sequential procedure is

one in which the witness views lineup members one at a time and makes a decision on each before seeing the next

. This contrasts with a simultaneous procedure in which all lineup members are available to be viewed at the same time.

What is a double blind lineup?

A double-blind lineup refers to

a lineup procedure in which both the witness and the lineup administrator are unaware of which lineup member is the suspect under investigation

.

What is sequential lineup?

The sequential lineup

shows lineup members to the witness one at a time and asks the witness to make a decision on each one before showing the next one

, whereas the traditional simultaneous lineup shows the witness all lineup members at once.

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.