Lecture 5 part 2

Question 1

Police interviews

Answer 1

• Primary goal to extract a complete and accurate report from a witness
• Problems interrupting witness
• problems using short, specific questioning
• Problem with questions being asked in predetermined order
• Problem with suggestive/leading questions

Question 2

Specific interviewing strategies

Answer 2

• Cognitive interview/enhanced cognitive interview

- Structured interviews

Question 3

Cognitive interview

Answer 3

Based on 4 memory retrieval techniques:

• Reinstating context
• Reporting everything
• Reversing order
• Changing perspective (camera’s review)

Question 4

Enhanced cognitive interview

Answer 4

• Rapport building
• Supportive interviewer behaviour
• Transfer of control, witness controls the flow
• Focused retrieval, open ended questions
• Witness-compatible questions, match questions to what witness is talking about

Question 5

Benefits of using structured interviews

Answer 5

• User friendly
• Flexible
• More effective

Question 6

Hypnosis

Answer 6

• Used when witnesses are unable to recall many details
• Assumption that hypnosis allows witness to recall more details that are otherwise inaccessible
  2 techniques:
• Age regression (go back in time)
• Television (watching event on TV)

Question 7

Recall of perpetrator

Answer 7

Criminal descriptors

Question 8

What information do witnesses provide for looks

Answer 8

• General, vague
• Limited in detail
• Average 7.35 descriptors (lab studies), 3.5 real life
• Tend to be accurate depending on the information

Question 9

Recall abilities: age

Answer 9

• Quantity of descriptors tend to increase with age, decrease with seniors
• Young adults provide most information
• No difference in accuracy reported

Question 10

Recognition memory: lineup identification

Answer 10

• Witness views a group of suspects to determine whether one is the perpetrator
• Helps reduce uncertainty of whether a suspect is perpetrator beyond description provided

Question 11

Perpetrator

Answer 11

Guilty person who committed crime

Question 12

Suspect

Answer 12

Person police thinks committed the crime

Question 13

Distractors/foils/fillers

Answer 13

• Put in lineup but known to be innocent

- Similar to suspect and match description

Question 14

Target present lineups

Answer 14

Contains guilty perpetrator

Question 15

Target absent lineups

Answer 15

Does not contain guilty perpetrator but instead includes an innocent suspect

Question 16

Decisions in lineups

Answer 16

Target present lineup:
- Correct identification
- Foil identification
- False rejection
Target absent lineup:
- Correct rejection
- Foil identification
- False identification

Question 17

Foil identification

Answer 17

Known error to police

Question 18

False rejection

Answer 18

• Unknown error to police

- Guilty suspect could go free

Question 19

False identification

Answer 19

• Unknown error to police
• Innocent suspect could be convicted
• Guilty suspect remains at large

Question 20

Lineup procedures: simultaneous

Answer 20

• All lineup photos shown at same time

- Relative judgement, compare lineup members to each other and choose person most closely related to perpetrator

Question 21

Lineup procedures: sequential

Answer 21

• Each lineup member presented separately
• Says guilty or not after each photograph
• Absolute judgement, compares each member to memory

Question 22

Foil bias

Answer 22

Suspect is only lineup member that matches description of perpetrator

Question 23

Clothing bias

Answer 23

Suspect is only lineup member that is wearing clothing similar to clothing perpetrator was wearing

Question 24

Instruction bias

Answer 24

Police fail to mention that perpetrator may or may not be present in the lineup

Question 25

Show ups precedure

Answer 25

- Not a lineup - Shows one photo to witness - Sometimes used when suspect apprehended at or near the crime scene Issues: - Inherently biased - Witness knows who the suspect is - Increases eyewitness confidence - Suspect may look guilty (handcuffs, in police car)

Question 26

Brenton Butler

Answer 26

- Couple accosted outside their hotel - Wife fatally shot, killer fled - During investigation, Brenton Butler picked up by police - Butler brought to husband at scene of crime in police car and identified as killer - Example of Show up issue

Question 27

Age and eyewitness accuracy

Answer 27

- Young adults more accurate than children and older adults - Older adults less likely to make correct identification and more likely to make false identification - Improves with age until mid adolescence

Question 28

Child friendly lineup procedure

Answer 28

- Wildcard lineup | - Elimination lineup

Question 29

Wildcard lineup

Answer 29

- Similar to simultaneous procedure - rejection option (silhouette with question mark) - Reduces likelihood of making false identification

Question 30

Elimination lineup

Answer 30

- First what looks most like criminal - Take out every other picture after decision - Is that person accurate to memory - Reduces likelihood of making false identification

Question 31

Cross-race effect

Answer 31

- 1.56x more likely to misidentify member of different race | - Possibly from attitudes, interracial contact, and physiognomic homogeneity (less variability in some race faces)

Question 32

Weapon focus effect

Answer 32

- Focuses on weapon instead of perpetrator - Going to remember less about a crime when a weapon is presented - Possibly from cue-utilization hypothesis and unusualness of seeing a weapon

Question 33

Cue-utilization hypothesis

Answer 33

Emotional arousal increases, attention capacity decreases

Question 34

Policy guidlines

Answer 34

- Blind administration (detective not know who suspect is) - Explicitly state perpetrator may or may not be present - Suspect should not stand out from other members - Clear statements should be taken from eyewitness - Procedure should be recorded - Importance of clearing innocent suspects - Sequential procedure - Officers should not discuss identification decision with eyewitness