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Dallas police reexamining 'showup' policy

Grits has frequently discussed faulty eyewitness ID procedures used by police, and few such tactics are more problematic than use of the "showup," where police bring a single suspect in custody to see a witness or victim and simply ask, "is this the guy." As it turns out, reports the Dallas News, for the most part this tactic isn't necessary for good police work ("Dallas police view suspect showups," Oct. 25):A Dallas police review of single-suspect "showup" identifications revealed that more than half may not have been necessary to make an arrest. Police found 36 cases involving showups in a review completed this week of crimes from the last six months. The examination began after an investigation earlier this month by The Dallas Morning News into eyewitness identification...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on October 27, 2008 (boomark / email).