Stuff You Should Know – Selects: How Police Lineups Work

Intro

In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, along with guest producers Noel and Ben, delve into the flaws and potential solutions of the criminal justice system’s use of eyewitness identification in police lineups. They explore the challenges and complexities of human memory, the impact of stress and fear on identification, and the consequences of misidentification. Join them as they discuss the need for reform and the various techniques that can improve the accuracy of police lineups.

Main Takeaways

Flaws in Eyewitness Identification

• Eyewitness testimony is subject to the way our brains are wired and reconstructing little pieces of memory formed of a person can be difficult.
• Factors such as stress, fear, and weapon focus can make identifying a perpetrator even harder.
• Paying attention and trying to remember a few good details about the person or car can be helpful in a situation where one may need to identify a suspect.
• Our bodies are not primed to form memories during high-stress situations, making it difficult to recall details accurately.
• Eyewitness testimony is a flawed system, leading to wrongful convictions and perpetrators getting away with the crime.

Problems with Police Lineups

• Police lineups are an imperfect system due to human memory being flawed and identifying people in lineups being imperfect.
• 75% of the first 183 DNA exonerations in the US were due to eyewitness testimony in police lineups.
• Eyewitness testimony is problematic as it is not like human video recorders and can be affected by circumstances such as fight or flight situations and the presence of weapons.
• Eyewitness testimony across race or ethnicities is known to be unreliable.
• People have a harder time identifying people of another ethnicity or race due to “weird brain science.”

Improving Police Lineups

• Double-blind administration, where the administrator doesn’t know who the suspect is, is the best way to administer a lineup.
• Informing the witness that the suspect may or may not be in the lineup can reduce mistaken identity rates.
• Sequential double-blind lineups reduce the chance of misidentification or failure of identification.
• Lineups should assume all suspects are clean-shaven if not specified by the witness.
• Building a decent lineup involves finding a blind administrator and avoiding putting two perpetrators in the same lineup.

Summary

The Flaws of Eyewitness Identification

Eyewitness identification is a flawed system due to the way our brains reconstruct memories and the impact of stress and fear on recall. Factors such as weapon focus can further complicate the identification process. Despite our best efforts, human memory is not like a video recorder, leading to potential errors and wrongful convictions.

The Problems with Police Lineups

Police lineups, which heavily rely on eyewitness testimony, are imperfect due to the inherent flaws in human memory. Research shows that eyewitness identification across race or ethnicities is known to be unreliable. Our brains have difficulty identifying people of different races, possibly due to past inbreeding. These issues have led to numerous wrongful convictions and the need for reform in the criminal justice system.

Improving Police Lineups

To improve the accuracy of police lineups, certain measures can be taken. Double-blind administration, where the administrator is unaware of the suspect’s identity, reduces the potential for bias. Informing witnesses that the suspect may or may not be in the lineup helps reduce mistaken identity rates. Sequential double-blind lineups, where witnesses view one lineup member at a time, minimize the chance of misidentification. Building a decent lineup involves finding a blind administrator and ensuring that two perpetrators are not included in the same lineup.

Conclusion

Eyewitness identification is a complex and flawed process that has serious implications for the criminal justice system. The discussion in this episode highlights the need for reform and the importance of implementing techniques that improve the accuracy of police lineups. By understanding the limitations of human memory and adopting best practices, we can strive towards a more just and reliable system of identifying perpetrators.