Reference no: EM133381969
The Case: Pam was walking home one evening after work at approximately 9pm. She was following her usual route, listening to music and thinking about what she needed to pick up at the store on her way home. Just before stepping into a crosswalk she was suddenly knocked to the ground. She felt someone take her backpack and as she looked up, she saw a man running away through the intersection. He was wearing dark clothing and a black hat. She only observed him for a moment before needing to jump suddenly out of the crosswalk to avoid being hit in traffic. By the time she looked up again he had turned a corner and disappeared. Pam immediately phoned police to report the incident. Officers took a brief statement that night. Pam described the suspect as having been of average height, wearing dark clothing and a hat. She indicated feeling quite uncertain about the likelihood that she could remember the perpetrator's face given how quickly the events unfolded. She was understandably very shaken up by what happened.
A few weeks later, Pam received a phone call from a police detective. The Detective told Pam that they were investigating a string of similar incidents in the area, and asked her to come to the police station for an interview. The Detective told Pam that they felt confident they had the right suspect in custody, as he had been arrested wearing a dark hat similar to the one she had described in her original statement. The Detective thanked Pam for coming in and expressed confidence in her ability to help them solve the case and hold someone accountable for the crimes. The Detective showed Pam a photo of the suspect during their interview, and Pam reported that while he looked somewhat familiar, she wasn't sure if he was the one responsible. After a break, the detective conducted an in-person lineup that included the same suspect along with four other individuals. The detective informed Pam that their prime suspect was in the lineup, but that she shouldn't feel any pressure to make an identification if she could not clearly remember the perpetrator's face. During the lineup, the detective indicated that another victim had been seriously injured in an incident similar to the one Pam had experienced, and that they would really like to hold someone accountable. Pam identified the same suspect as the one in the photo she had been earlier shown. Pam rated her confidence as 'about a three out of ten,' but expressed her desire to help the police solve the case. The detective told Pam that she made a great identification and that she had been a huge help.
Seven months later at trial, while testifying about her identification, Pam reported feeling very confident in her recall of the suspect's face, and stated "I would never forget that face."
Questions: How confident would you be in accepting the reliability of Pam's eyewitness identification? If you were an expert witness testifying for the defense, which factors would you highlight? Identify potential factors that could have impacted the accuracy of Pam's eyewitness. What evidence-based strategies could you recommend for improving police procedures related to lineups and eyewitness identifications?