Eyewitness Identification Procedures Quiz

Eyewitness Identification Procedures in Law Enforcement

• Field identification is a procedure where a suspect is presented singly to a witness and may be held at the location of the arrest or taken to the witness for identification.
• Officers should consider the mental and emotional condition of the witness before using field identification and should use a lineup after an appropriate delay if the witness appears hysterical or disoriented.
• Field identification must take place as soon as possible after the arrest, and if the witness does not identify the suspect, officers shall release the suspect unless they still have probable cause to believe that he committed an offense.
• The suspect has no right to counsel at the field identification, but if there is probable cause to arrest a suspect, the officer may conduct a show up without first arresting the suspect.
• If an officer reasonably suspects that a person detained at the scene within approximately one hour of an offense committed that offense, the officer may briefly detain him to conduct the field identification.
• Officers may arrange the field identification if a medical emergency exists and medical authorities approve, regardless of the time after an offense occurs.
• To the extent practical, only one or two witnesses should view the suspect, and the other witnesses should be used at a lineup to verify the identification.
• Field identification shall take place away from the immediate scene of the crime to prevent contamination of evidence at the scene.
• Officers shall make a written record of the circumstances of the field identification, including the place and lighting conditions, distance between the suspect and the witness, witnesses' identities, and all remarks made by witnesses, officers, the suspect, or anyone else present during the identification.
• Informal identification procedures may be used when probable cause to arrest the suspect does not exist, and a detailed record shall be kept of all informal identification procedures.
• Lineups and photo identification displays will be conducted pursuant to written guidelines established and maintained by the Criminal Investigations Division.
• Officers shall conduct all eyewitness identification procedures in a fair and impartial manner and should advise victims or witnesses just prior to their viewing of a suspect that they are under no obligation to identify the person as a suspect and should not draw any conclusions about a person just because he is in custody or handcuffed.