Misidentification

PREPARING TO READ

The words and phrases in bold below are used in the text "Misidentification". Read the sentences and match the word or phrase to its definition.

 
1.1 (n.): unacceptable or bad behaviour by someone in a position of authority or responsibility

1.2 (v.): to express or explain your thoughts or feelings clearly in words

1.3 (v.): to wrongly think that someone or something is a particular person or thing

1.4 (adj.): not guilty of a crime; not having done something wrong

1.5 (n.): someone who has committed a crime or a violent or harmful act

1.6 (phr.): a process where a witness or victim of a crime tries to identify a possible suspect from a group of people who look similar

Read and complete the tasks.

Misidentification

In traditional police lineups, as many as 40 percent of witnesses can end up misidentifying a suspect. This happens even if the real criminal is not there. “Most witnesses see a lineup as a multiple choice test. They assume one of the suspects must be the right answer,” says Rod Lindsay, a psychology professor and specialist in issues of eyewitness identification. If witnesses are brought to the police station and presented with a lineup, they will often make a “relative judgment.” This means that the witness will choose the person in the lineup that closely resembles their memory of the perpetrator, which may be the wrong person.

Many have called for changing the way suspects are identified. One such change is to present witnesses with a lineup that does not include any real suspects. If the witness does not misidentify any of the first six “suspects,” chances are greatly increased that they will make an accurate identification in the following lineup. Non-suspects included in the lineup should resemble the eyewitness’s description. This ensures the suspect is not singled out.

Another change is to get rid of the traditional lineup. Instead of showing several “suspects” at once, witnesses are shown suspects or photographs of suspects one at a time. Research has shown this method decreases the rate at which innocent people are identified.

Finally, immediately following the lineup, the eyewitness should provide a written statement articulating the level of confidence in the identification. Also, videotaping the identification protects innocent suspects from any misconduct by the lineup administrator and ensures the legitimacy of the process. Both methods ensure that witnesses are not randomly picking a person.

Source: Reading for the Real World 2

Mark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

Prof. Rod Lindsay specializes in the issues of eyewitness identification. 2.1FT

To increase the chances of accurate identification, some have proposed using two lineups in a row. 2.2TF

It is impossible to guarantee the legitimacy of the procedure for identifying suspects. 2.3TF

What can you know from the text?

What can be inferred from the text?

In this text, the writer is trying to inform the readers about _____.

Drag and drop to complete the summary. 

Up to 40% of witnesses can mistakenly 6.1 suspects in traditional police lineups due to the "relative judgment" technique, where they select someone in the lineup who closely resembles the perpetrator from their memory. To address this issue, 6.2 methods have been proposed. One technique involves presenting non-suspects who match the witness's description in a lineup that doesn't include any 6.3 suspects. Another method is to sequentially show suspects or photos, and 6.4 can be documented in a written statement or on video to 6.5 accuracy and legitimacy.

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Build your vocabulary by learning these intensive idioms in the topic area of Crime and law

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Choose the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s).

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