Citation

Wilcock R, Crane L, Hobson Z, Nash G, Kirke‐Smith M, Henry LA. Appl. Cogn. Psychol. 2018; 32(3): 367-375.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/acp.3412

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Performance at identification lineup was assessed in eighty-five 6- to 11-year-old typically developing children. Children viewed a live staged event involving 2 male actors, and were asked to identify the perpetrators from 2 separate lineups (one perpetrator-present lineup and one perpetrator-absent lineup). Half the children took part in lineups adapted by a registered intermediary (an impartial, trained professional who facilitates understanding and communication between vulnerable witnesses and members of the justice system), and half took part in "best-practice" lineups, according to the current guidance for eyewitness identification in England and Wales. Children receiving assistance from a registered intermediary (relative to children who received best-practice lineups) were more accurate in their identifications for perpetrator-present lineups, and there was some evidence that they were also more accurate for perpetrator-absent lineups. This provides the first empirical evidence for the effectiveness of registered intermediary support during identification lineups.

Language: en

Keywords

child witnesses; identification; intermediaries