Encyclopedia of Psychology and Law

position number of the lineup member. There has been

a recent movement toward administering lineups

sequentially, so that witnesses see only one photo at a

time. Unlike the simultaneous lineup, in which there

is only one lineup decision, witnesses make a decision

for each photo in the sequential lineup (“yes” or

“no”). One benefit of the sequential lineup is that it

has been demonstrated to reduce false identifications

of innocent individuals.

Administrator Bias

An additional benefit of the sequential method is that

the photos can be randomized so that the administrator

does not know which photo the witness is looking

at, reducing the likelihood of administrator bias.

Administrator bias occurs when the administrator inad-

vertently gives cues to which photo belongs to the sus-

pect. When neither the administrator nor the witness

knows who the suspect is, the procedure is referred to

as “double-blind” administration. Computer-assisted

lineups provide for reduced interaction between admin-

istrator and witness, which greatly reduces the uninten-

tional cues that can pass from the administrator to the

witness.

Policy and Procedures

Law enforcement agencies typically have procedures

for how lineups should be administered. However,

deviations in procedure can easily occur when using

traditional hard-copy lineup administration. Not only

do computers have the capability to monitor and col-

lect an enormous amount of information, they can also

be programmed to administer the lineup exactly in

accordance with policy and procedures. The adminis-

trator needs only to start the program and then can

minimize his or her presence. Computers have the

additional benefit of providing both written and audio

instructions in any language. Lineups can be adminis-

tered either simultaneously or sequentially. Lineup

members can be randomly assigned to new positions

each time the lineup is presented, with the administra-

tor keeping accurate track of the position of each

lineup member while recording the time taken to make

each lineup decision. Many computers are equipped

with condenser microphones and video cameras, thus

enabling recording of the exact cursor location as well

as audio and video of the event. Depending on the pro-

cedures, confidence can be measured for each lineup

decision or after the lineup is complete.

Lineup Preservation

Once a lineup decision has been made, the identification

information must be recorded and preserved. A multi-

tude of problems can occur in the preservation of hard-

copy lineup information: Information about where the

photos were gathered from and who the photos repre-

sent, along with administration information (who

administered the lineup, the date and time, etc.), can eas-

ily get lost or not be recorded at all. Evidence obtained

using computers can be better preserved than evidence

from traditional hard-copy lineups. Lineup evidence in

the form of data, photos, audio, and video (including a

replay of the entire identification event) can be stored on

the computer and automatically copied to a DVD, and it

can be uploaded to a departmental server and stored

on backup drives for later review by researchers, law

enforcement personnel, attorneys, or jurors.

Showups

Many identifications occur shortly after the commis-

sion of a crime because law enforcement officers

often apprehend suspects in the vicinity of the crime.

When this occurs, the law enforcement personnel will

either bring the witness to the location where the sus-

pect was apprehended or take the suspect to the wit-

ness. Either way, this is referred to as a showup.

Showups are problematic because both the law

enforcement officer and the witness know who the

suspect is. Researchers at the University of Northern

Iowa have begun experimenting with using handheld

personal digital assistants (PDAs) in lieu of showups.

PDAs have the ability to take a photo of the suspect

and send the photo to a centralized location, either by

phone or by WiFi. Technicians at the centralized loca-

tion can then construct a lineup around the photo and

transmit the lineup back to the PDA, allowing the offi-

cer to administer a sequential lineup to the witness.

One added benefit is that the lineup can be transferred

from the suspect’s location to the witness’s location,

involving less physical transfer of people and PDAs.

The handheld PDA has many of the capabilities of

desktop or laptop computers, including playing sound

instructions, audio recording the witness’s identifica-

tion, and transferring the evidence back to a central-

ized location for preservation.

Otto H. MacLin

See also Lineup Filler Selection; Showups; Simultaneous and

Sequential Lineup Presentation

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