posted 06-03-2009 05:50 PM            

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I asked about this before, but I can't find it. Anyhow, a researcher (actually 2) I know is looking for data that I hope some of you can provide. (The journal editors want more, specific info.)

They're looking for police agencies in the following areas (using the NIJ's eyewitness evidence guidelines) to have officers answer a brief survey about, well, eyewitness evidence:

State of Wisconsin
State of New Jersey
State of North Carolina

It also looks like these places follow the guidelines:

Northampton, MA
Suffolk County, MA (Boston)
Santa Clara County, CA

If any of you have contacts in any of those areas who could assist in circulating the surveys, please let me know. I'll reach out to the contact person(s) and make the introductions.

This is really some good research in an area where the literature is thin, and it will be of benefit to law enforcement, so if you can help, I - and the researchers - would appreciate it.

There's no glory in it. In order to protect agencies who might not be "collecting" eyewitness evidence as optimally as they should, everything is confidential, but you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you did a good deed for the benefit of ..., Okay forget the hype, and just please help!

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posted 06-03-2009 08:46 PM            

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I think the AG is passing this around here (NJ).

The line-up procedure is madatory state wide and it seems like an improvement.

Did you know (I just had this in class from an AG from DCJ) that there is science to back up that one race can not properly identify another race in line-ups?

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posted 06-03-2009 09:02 PM            

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Yes, cross-racial identifications are less accurate than same race identifications. The "they all look alike" joke is (generally) true for all. Whites better identify whites; blacks, blacks; Asians, Asians, etc. It doesn't mean they can't make IDs. The data just shows that accuracy is reduced. That's pretty well settled by the research, as you stated.

If the AG is passing it around, the authors don't know about it. If there's anything happening, they'd like to know. They've got a few years into this study so far, and I think the end result will be that officers need more training. The fact that you just learned the cross-racial information seems to support that. That info isn't new, but eyewitness evidence has only recently become a focus of attention in the criminal justice community.

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posted 06-05-2009 06:20 PM            

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Cross racial ID problems may have been mentioned to me before, but I certainly didn't retain or remember it.

I thought the AG said did you get our surveys on the process...she may have said do you get THE surveys---so don't quote me on that.

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posted 06-08-2009 11:26 AM            

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I have a Wisconsin contact, and Ted is willing to assist in CA. Is there anybody who might know anybody in New Jersey who could assist in getting some surveys completed? I think they've been at this the longest.

Thanks,

Barry

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