Eye witness testimony has always been of questionable accuracy. The human brain is not a computer, retrieving exact copies of what has been observed and placed in carbon based storage as a chemical composition. In fact, memories housed in the human brain are quite malleable and are modified in deference to a person's ego needs (sense of self) and deep rooted attitudes.
Now comes the finding that fingering a criminal suspect in a lineup is best done quickly and not after the witness is given time to ponder who he/she thinks is the criminal standing amongst innocent persons.
See excerpts from the May 3, 2012 issue of The Economist:
Neil Brewer, a psychologist at Flinders University in Australia, has devised a new type of police line-up, described in Psychological Science. Rather than simply pointing out the perpetrator, witnesses are asked how confident they are when identifying him. And they have to make up their minds quickly. Whereas a typical police officer tells a witness to take time and mull it over, Dr Brewer sets a very short deadline.
Dr Brewer knew from past research that strong memory traces are more rapidly accessed by the brain than weaker ones—and that accurate eyewitness identifications are made significantly faster than inaccurate ones. So he guessed that limiting the time witnesses had to look at suspects would yield better results.
Witnesses who were given a flexible choice but only a short time to ponder were much more accurate. They picked the correct suspects 67% of the time. The “yes or no” group picked the right man only 49% of the time. A witness delayed may be justice denied.
Now comes the finding that fingering a criminal suspect in a lineup is best done quickly and not after the witness is given time to ponder who he/she thinks is the criminal standing amongst innocent persons.
See excerpts from the May 3, 2012 issue of The Economist:
Neil Brewer, a psychologist at Flinders University in Australia, has devised a new type of police line-up, described in Psychological Science. Rather than simply pointing out the perpetrator, witnesses are asked how confident they are when identifying him. And they have to make up their minds quickly. Whereas a typical police officer tells a witness to take time and mull it over, Dr Brewer sets a very short deadline.
Dr Brewer knew from past research that strong memory traces are more rapidly accessed by the brain than weaker ones—and that accurate eyewitness identifications are made significantly faster than inaccurate ones. So he guessed that limiting the time witnesses had to look at suspects would yield better results.
Witnesses who were given a flexible choice but only a short time to ponder were much more accurate. They picked the correct suspects 67% of the time. The “yes or no” group picked the right man only 49% of the time. A witness delayed may be justice denied.
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