Police Lineups
July 11th, 2011 by flanewsThe way eyewitnesses identify crime suspects will soon be the same in every police agency in Florida.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is calling for every agency to adopt its new lineup policy in an attempt to cut down on the number of innocent people charged with crimes. Last year the Florida Innocence Commission found that sometimes investigators would unconsciously send body language signals to eyewitnesses about which person was their suspect. FDLE Spokesman Keith Kameg says that will change this fall.
“These standard today provide a uniform way of looking at things, how we talk to possible witnesses, how we identify, how we present the lineup, we want to make certain that there’s no bias,” said Kameg.
Many Florida police agencies already practice the new lineup rules, which include having an officer with no relation to the case show an eyewitness the lineup pictures. But those that don’t will have to adopt the new policies by November 1st.
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