Eyewitness identification procedures for multiple perpetrator crimes: a survey of police in Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands

Nina Tupper*, Melanie Sauerland, James D. Sauer, Lorraine Hope

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

A considerable proportion of crimes involve multiple perpetrators. Yet, little is known about how police officers construct, administer, and record eyewitness identification procedures for multiple suspects. An online survey of law enforcement agents in Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands (N = 51) was conducted to obtain an initial understanding of police perceptions of prevalence and characteristics of multiple perpetrator crimes, and to examine identification procedure practices given the little to no guidance provided for police. Practice converged when it came to the use of sequential, photographic lineups, but diverged between and within countries on whether or not suspects of multiple perpetrator crimes should be placed in separate lineups. Results specifically highlight contextual cuing as one critical area for future research in identification for multiple perpetrator crimes (i.e. placing multiple suspects in the same lineup or asking eyewitnesses to look for a specific suspect).

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)992-1007
Number of pages16
JournalPsychology Crime & Law
Volume25
Issue number10
Early online date8 May 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Multiple perpetrator crime
  • multiple suspects
  • eyewitness identification
  • lineup
  • police practice
  • ACCURACY
  • FACE

Cite this