21-08 Eyewitness Identification Procedures

Eyewitness Identification Procedures

• The Kansas City Missouri Police Department has established guidelines for eyewitness identification procedures to protect the innocent from misidentification and serve as a tool for identifying subjects of interest in criminal investigations.

Terminology

• Blind Administration: A procedure where the member showing the photo array does not know and cannot identify the subject of interest.
• Field Show-up: The live presentation of a subject of interest to an eyewitness shortly after the commission of a crime.
• Filler: A person or photograph included in a line-up or photo array, but not a subject of interest.
• Photo Array: A group of photographs shown to an eyewitness to attempt to identify a subject of interest.
• Subject of Interest: A person believed to have committed or taken part in a criminal act.

Policy

• Eyewitness identification procedures will be conducted in a fair, objective, and nonsuggestive manner.
• Members will adhere to the procedures to maximize the reliability of identifications, minimize erroneous identifications, and gather evidence conforming to contemporary eyewitness identification protocols.
• All eyewitness identification procedures will be audio or video recorded whenever possible.

Photo Arrays

• The sequential presentation approach will be used when conducting eyewitness identification.
• A minimum of five fillers will be used in any photo array, taken from government-approved databases, including the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV).
• Fillers should be similar in appearance to the subject of interest, considering factors such as gender, race, age, and extraordinary physical features.
• Only one subject of interest will be included in each photo array.

Field Show-Ups

• Field show-up identifications are suggestive by nature and should be considered carefully, taking into account factors such as the length of time the victim/witness had to view the subject of interest, the amount of detail in the description, and the demeanor of the subject.
• A field show-up should not be conducted if there is sufficient probable cause for an arrest, absent identification by a victim/witness.
• Detaining a subject of interest for a field show-up is lawful where the member has reasonable suspicion that the subject of interest has committed a crime.
• Field show-ups should be conducted live whenever possible and not photographically.