Citation

Rose C, Beck V. J. Crime Justice 2016; 39(2): 243-263.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Midwestern Criminal Justice Association, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/0735648X.2014.940999

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

With an experimental design, we assess the reliability of eyewitness identification. After viewing a staged nonviolent crime, subjects heard a confederate provide an inaccurate description of the criminal. Subjects were then randomly placed in one of several experimental conditions, and their ability to identify the criminal was assessed. While subjects were highly confident in their ability to accurately identify the perpetrator, their ability to provide accurate information about the perpetrator was relatively low. All of the following were shown to significantly impact the probability that our eyewitnesses could provide accurate eyewitness information: length of time between the subject witnessing the crime and being asked to identify the perpetrator; the subjects' physical distance from the witnessed crime; the content of the photo lineup (whether or not the criminal was included); and prelineup instructions provided to the eyewitness. Similar to prior research, our results highlight the dangerous fallibility of eyewitness identification, particularly for co-witness contamination.

Language: en