Police lineup is a useful method to identify culprits. But it has its inherent weaknesses. Read this article.
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After more than three decades of laboratory studies, experts have found that a few simple changes in police lineup procedures improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications.
For example, having someone administer the lineup who doesn’t know who the real suspect is can prevent inadvertently influencing the witness’s pick. And telling the witness that the perpetrator may not be present in the lineup lessens the chances that the witness will feel compelled to identify a suspect.
Police departments have been reluctant to act on the recommendations. But that is changing. One-quarter to one-third of all police departments now use the double-blind, sequential approach, according to some estimates, and their ranks appear to be growing every day.
Two states—New Jersey and North Carolina—require that all lineups be conducted sequentially and using a double-blind method, where the administrator does not know which person is the suspect. So do many local law enforcement agencies, including some of the nation’s biggest police departments.
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