Identification Tests, Best Practices in

Perhaps the ultimate form of eyewitness evidence is the identification of a suspect from a live or photo lineup, as opposed to more general information provided by a witness, such as a verbal description of an event. Best-practice recommendations in this area are based on a combination of some good procedures used by law enforcement for decades, sound logic and probability theory, basic psychological principles, and dedicated psychology–law research. The primary goal of a good identification procedure is to let the witness's memory be the basis of his or her decision, rather than any implicit or explicit influences that derive from either the procedure used or the nature of the lineup itself. And, of course, the desired outcome of a good procedure is to secure ...