OKLAHOMA CITY -
Wrongful convictions
from police lineups are a criticism that is heard all across the country. Now, one
police department in Oklahoma is changing its policies to make sure innocent
people do not end up behind bars.
Staring
down the barrel of a gun during a crime can leave an eyewitness not only shaken,
but also uncertain of the suspect. With most crimes, investigators use
witnesses to help fill in the blanks.
"You find
six subjects that fit the description of the subject…gender, height, weight,"
said Oklahoma City Police deputy chief, Johnny Kuhlman.
In this
case, inmates are chosen at random to illustrate how Oklahoma City Police had
previously presented photo lineups.
"All six
photographs are placed in this folder and shown to the witness or victim at the
same time," Kuhlman said.
Kuhlman
explains the procedure is not bad, but can be known to overwhelm a witness and
have them think the suspect is one of the six photographs. Even during the
presentation to our cameras, police are able to detect at least one of the
common concerns with this system.
"As I see
your eyes they are going from one to the other bouncing back very quickly and
that's exactly what a witness is going to do," said Kuhlman.
So, Oklahoma
City Police adopted a new policy. Detectives now present possible suspects sequentially.
And to exclude police influence on identification, the officer administering
the photos will have no background on the case.
"I show all
six photographs to you and I have no personal knowledge if any of the six are
suspects or who the suspect is," explained Kuhlman.
Studies
show that this procedure decreases eyewitness mistakes, but result in less
identifications.
"They are
more quality as opposed to just quantity. Even though you may not get as many
identifications, the identifications you do get are very accurate.
Oklahoma
City Police do not have a known problem with false identification, but say it's
a decision to upgrade their procedures.
In the last
month police say they've had positive IDs and are collecting data for
comparison.
OKC Police Detectives will now present possible suspects sequentially. And to exclude police influence on identification, the officer administering the photos will have no background on the case.
