“Eyewitnesses play an important role in criminal cases when they can identify culprits. Estimates suggest that tens of thousands of eyewitnesses make identifications in criminal investigations each year. Research on factors that affect the accuracy of eyewitness identification procedures has given us an increasingly clear picture of how identifications are made, and more importantly, an improved understanding of the principled limits on vision and memory that can lead to failure of identification. Factors such as viewing conditions, duress, elevated emotions, and biases influence the visual perception experience. Perceptual experiences are stored by a system of memory that is highly malleable and continuously evolving, neither retaining nor divulging content in an informational vacuum. As such, the fidelity of our memories to actual events may be compromised by many factors at all stages of processing, from encoding to storage and retrieval. Unknown to the individual, memories are forgotten, reconstructed, updated, and distorted. Complicating the process further, policies governing law enforcement procedures for conducting and recording identifications are not standard, and policies and practices to address the issue of misidentification vary widely. These limitations can produce mistaken identifications with significant consequences. What can we do to make certain that eyewitness identification convicts the guilty and exonerates the innocent? Identifying the Culprit makes the case that better data collection and research on eyewitness identification, new law enforcement training protocols, standardized procedures for administering line-ups, and improvements in the handling of eyewitness identification in court can increase the chances that accurate identifications are made. This report explains the science that has emerged during the past 30 years on eyewitness identifications and identifies best practices in eyewitness procedures for the law enforcement community and in the presentation of eyewitness evidence in the courtroom. In order to continue the advancement of eyewitness identification research, the report recommends a focused research agenda. Identifying the Culprit will be an essential resource to assist the law enforcement and legal communities as they seek to understand the value and the limitations of eyewitness identification and make improvements to procedures.”
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Daily Archives: October 5, 2014
Pew – Prison and Crime: A Complex Link
Crime drop since 1994 has been bigger in states that cut imprisonment rates. “Two decades after Congress passed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 — with lawmakers focused on locking up more offenders for longer periods — the nation’s imprisonment rate has climbed 24 percent and crime has declined 40 percent.… Continue Reading
The Compelling Case for Stronger and More Effective Leverage Regulation in Banking
Admati, Anat R., The Compelling Case for Stronger and More Effective Leverage Regulation in Banking (September 30, 2014). Journal of Legal Studies, Forthcoming. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2505199 “Excessive leverage (indebtedness) in banking endangers the public and distorts the economy. Yet current and proposed regulations only tweak previous regulations that failed to provide financial stability.… Continue Reading
Competitive Dynamics in Forecasting: The Interaction of Skill and Uncertainty
Evgeniou, Theodoros and Fang, Lily H. and Hogarth, Robin M. and Karelaia, Natalia, Competitive Dynamics in Forecasting: The Interaction of Skill and Uncertainty (2013). Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 26 (4), 375-384, 2013. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2505219 “The outcomes of many activities depend upon both skill and luck. We analyze stock analysts’ forecasts of… Continue Reading
Empowering Employees to Prevent Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations
Bradley, John M., Empowering Employees to Prevent Fraud in Nonprofit Organizations (September 18, 2014). Cardozo Public Law, Policy and Ethics Journal, Vol. 13, 2015, Forthcoming; U of Penn Law School, Public Law Research Paper No. 14-32. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2505194 “This Article examines the significant problem of fraud within nonprofit organizations and demonstrates that… Continue Reading
IG FDIC – Enforcement Actions and Professional Liability Claims Against Institution-Affiliated Parties and Individuals Associated with Failed Institutions
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of the Treasury – Enforcement Actions and Professional Liability Claims Against Institution-Affiliated Parties and Individuals Associated with Failed Institutions. Report Numbers, EVAL 14-002, 2014-SR-B-011, OIG-CA-14-012. July 2014 “As discussed in our report, the Regulators have established formal processes for investigating and imposing EAs on IAPs… Continue Reading
MIT researchers given access by Twitter to all public tweets
Joshua Brustein – Bloomberg: “Twitter is giving $10 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology over the next five years to study patterns of public discourse on the Internet, and potentially to build technology that will make online civic action more effective. The research will happen as part of the MIT Media Lab under a vaguely ominous… Continue Reading
