The 1998 U.S. Attorney General's report on "best practices" in photo identification and the recent efforts and suggestions of the Innocence Project are important to consider when examining the issues related to suspect identification. Four rules suggested by the Attorney General include: (1) the person who conducts the lineup or photospread should not be aware of which member of the lineup or photospread is the suspect;
(2) eyewitnesses should be told explicitly that the person in question might not be in the lineup or photospread and therefore should not feel that they must make an identification. They should also be told that the person administering the lineup does not know which person is the suspect in the case, (3) the suspect should not stand out in the lineup or photospread as being different from the distractors based on the eyewitness's previous description of the culprit or based on other factors that would draw extra attention to the suspect; (4) a clear statement should be taken from the eyewitness at the time of the identification and prior to any feedback as to his or her confidence that the identified person is the actual culprit.
Research the issues pertaining to the identification of suspects and discuss potential improvements as to how lineups and photo arrays can be used differently in investigations in an effort to reduce misidentification. Do you agree with the Attorney General and Innocence Project recommendations? Why or why not? Be sure to identify any current flaws in identification procedures.