Eyewitness Evidence In Policing

Eyewitness evidence is key in policing all the way from early ages to modern days. Discussed below will demonstrate the two different types of evidence and how they correlate. There are many challenges that come along with eyewitness evidence in the courtroom. Needed to be recognized is the most effective methods of gathering this evidence as if it were physical which will be referenced in the body of this paper. The more effective that police can make gathering this evidence, the more accurate offenders will be put in jail. This benefits not only this country, but society as a whole. The human mind works in such intricate ways that research is just starting to fully figure out now how to let it function at its best quality especially for recalling …show more content…
From what I have been shown growing up, such as influences on TV, movies, etc. was that of only one method of lineup procedures. The procedure that is most shown was simultaneous. “Simultaneous lineup procedures” are less effective than “sequential lineup procedures” which is due to multiple factors and influences. The two main reasons why, are “relative judgement” and “absolute judgement”. When simultaneous lineups are being conducted, “eyewitnesses are more likely to use relative judgement – they select a suspect who looks most like the perpetrator relative to other suspects in the lineup”. (Wells, 1984) When I took psychology last year at a different university, I knew of the “three stages of human information processing” because they are what everyone uses on a daily basis when it comes to memory. In learning the basics of psychology, it was unique in seeing this in an everyday use such as eyewitness evidence. (Lindsay, Turtle, & Wells, 2003) There are so many cases where the wrong person will be mistaken for the true suspect and therefore be unlawfully charged with the crime. Because of this, there is more research being done to make sure that the wrong person is never convicted again. This is not only negative for the innocent person, but it also will still allow the actual perpetrator to “be at large”. (Lindsay, Turtle, & Wells, …show more content…
Either depending on if they know the suspect, sympathize with them, or dislike the police will alter sometimes whether or not they state correctly who the person is. It is already difficult enough to try and come up with the perpetrator when there are so many variables involved in the accuracy of eyewitness identification let alone if the witness is not being honest. (Wells,