Once again: selecting foils as similar to the suspect, or matching the description of the culprit?

Journal of Criminal Psychology,Volume 6, Issue 3, August 2016. Purpose To examine Clark, Rush and Moreland's (2013) claim that, contrary to White Paper
produced by the American Psychological Association (Wells et al., 1998), the match-to description method of choosing foils is inferior to the similarity-to suspect method. Design/methodology/approach Examining the existing empirical evidence. Findings There is no difference between the two methods in rate of identifications. Sometimes, however, the rate of false identifications is larger when the similarity to suspect method is used. Practical implications The White Paper's recommendation should remain in place. Originality/value Keeping the White paper's recommendation is important to prevent false identifications.

Source: Journal of Criminal Psychology - August 9, 2016 Category: Criminology Source Type: research