Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Suggestions for Their Reform

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Description

Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press,

Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press, 2014). While this process is critical in identifying a suspect during an ongoing investigation, it is not without faults. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted (The Innocence Project, 2022). In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification, a proper understanding of the process of eyewitness identification must be understood. Through investigating two published studies, one by Rose & Beck and the other by Gonzalez, it is seen that suggestion and police-introduced bias can have a negative impact on an identification, especially in lineups and showups. The case of Malcolm Alexander explains first-hand how police bias and suggestion can plant a false memory, leading to a misidentification, and, at times, a false conviction. Through a qualitative research-based interview with a Phoenix employee who has made identifications with police, suggestion is once again revealed though the questions asked by the officer. Through these findings, suggestions to improve eyewitness identification procedures are established.

Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Suggestions for Their Reform

Description
Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press,

Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases (The Innocence Project, 2022). Law enforcement officials utilize numerous procedures, the most common being photographic arrays, live lineups, and showups (The National Academies Press, 2014). While this process is critical in identifying a suspect during an ongoing investigation, it is not without faults. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted (The Innocence Project, 2022). In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification, a proper understanding of the process of eyewitness identification must be understood. Through investigating two published studies, one by Rose & Beck and the other by Gonzalez, it is seen that suggestion and police-introduced bias can have a negative impact on an identification, especially in lineups and showups. The case of Malcolm Alexander explains first-hand how police bias and suggestion can plant a false memory, leading to a misidentification, and, at times, a false conviction. Through a qualitative research-based interview with a Phoenix employee who has made identifications with police, suggestion is once again revealed though the questions asked by the officer. Through these findings, suggestions to improve eyewitness identification procedures are established.
Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Suggestions for Their Reform

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Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Eyewitness Identification Procedures and Suggestions for its Reform

Description

Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted. In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification,

Eyewitness identification has been one of the most crucial components in identifying perpetrators in criminal cases. Misidentification of a suspect often has detrimental effects, with many innocent individuals being wrongfully convicted. In order to fully understand the causes of misidentification, a proper understanding of the process of eyewitness identification must be understood in order to ensure that fewer individuals are falsely imprisoned.

Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Major Sporting Events and Their Relation to Sex Trafficking

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Description

When major sporting events such as the Super Bowl occur, there is a perceived increase in the amount of sex trafficking that occurs in the host city of the event. This study sought to determine if there was a direct

When major sporting events such as the Super Bowl occur, there is a perceived increase in the amount of sex trafficking that occurs in the host city of the event. This study sought to determine if there was a direct causal relationship between major sporting events and sex trafficking, or if the perceived spike in sex trafficking was due to increased scrutiny and attention sex trafficking receives during these events. Ultimately, after examining other studies and statistics, the conclusion was that while a direct causal relationship could not be determined between major sporting events and sex trafficking, there is a lucrative opportunity and higher risk for sex trafficking to occur at these major sporting events due to the risk factors associated with the event such as the high concentration of people in the area, the party atmosphere the event fosters, and the high amount of disposable income people at the event possess. This study also examined other aspects of sex trafficking such as the scope of the crime across the world, common characteristics among victims and offenders, and strategies used to combat the problem.

Date Created
2022-05
Agent

Gender Discrimination: An Investigation of the Experiences of Women in Policing

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Description

The goal of this study was to compare and contrast the discriminatory experiences of women in policing. Through this comparison, the deeper goal was to investigate the levels of discrimination throughout the ranks of Policewomen and the potential ramifications that

The goal of this study was to compare and contrast the discriminatory experiences of women in policing. Through this comparison, the deeper goal was to investigate the levels of discrimination throughout the ranks of Policewomen and the potential ramifications that might have had on their careers. Surveys were administered to female police officers. In order for a case study to be performed, 19 responses were collected. The survey consisted of 8 demographic and 8 long response questions. The demographic questions asked for age, ethnicity, state of birth, education level, officer ranking, career outlook, current marital status, and number of children. The long response questions include their positive and negative attributes about their career, their inspiration for pursuing their career in law enforcement, and if they have ever been discriminated against based on sex. The findings in the research gathered on police women within the rank of officer indicate varying levels of discrimination. The discrimination does not only happen from those inside the work place but from the community; the people officers are protecting. In conclusion, there is still great discrimination female officers face by both the community they serve and the department they serve with. This has ramifications on their ability to not only do their job in the moment but also move up throughout their departments.

Date Created
2020-05
Agent

Redefining Community Policing: A Research Proposal Assessing Community Partnerships with U.S. Law Enforcement

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Description
The design and intent of this research proposal was unknowingly established during my first semester at Arizona State University. Dr. John Hepburn, my Introduction to Criminology professor at the time, and I created an honors contract where I would be

The design and intent of this research proposal was unknowingly established during my first semester at Arizona State University. Dr. John Hepburn, my Introduction to Criminology professor at the time, and I created an honors contract where I would be conducting a qualitative research project with the municipality of Chandler, Arizona. This encompassed two main components: 28 hours of ride-alongs with the Chandler Police Department during their over-night shifts and, secondly, four additional hours observing the criminal courts at Chandler Municipal Court. This entailed the very start of my first-hand exposure to the American—and more specifically the Arizona—criminal justice system. At the conclusion of this experience, the need for reform and equity within our current criminal justice system divulged. Thus, I was inspired to dedicate the prompt of my honors thesis project to the Arizona criminal justice system and the Arizona community.

As my academic career progressed at ASU, I witnessed the Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter movements emerge, accompanied with a polarization between communities and U.S. law enforcement. This exposure led the mission of my honors thesis project towards helping alleviate those tensions. With the help of my committee, I found it most appropriate to investigate the community-police programs that already exist and seeing how communities across the states can develop not a single community police program but develop a mechanism for tailoring and modernizing programs as needed.
Date Created
2020-05
Agent

The Roles of Criminal Justice Professionals: Reality vs. Portrayals in Movies and Television Shows

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The goal of our research is to highlight the reality of criminal justice professionals’ roles. We interviewed six criminal justice professionals from three different fields within the criminal justice profession. The professions we focused on included judges, lawyers and police

The goal of our research is to highlight the reality of criminal justice professionals’ roles. We interviewed six criminal justice professionals from three different fields within the criminal justice profession. The professions we focused on included judges, lawyers and police officers. During each interview we showed the professionals a series of video clips from popular movies and television shows that portrayed individuals in their field. At the conclusion of each video, we asked the professionals to point out the realistic and overexaggerated aspects in the videos. Towards the very end of the interviews, we asked each professional a series of questions that corresponded with their specific field (See Appendix A). We received a lot of insight on what their jobs truly entail.

We gathered qualitative data on criminal justice professionals because we wanted to debunk myths associated with their professions. Professions within the criminal justice field can be extremely dangerous and even life-threatening, therefore it is important that individuals looking to enter these professions are well-informed. With technology improving daily, more and more people have easy access to social media, news, and television shows. Some people rely solely on these platforms to receive information. Another key reason we chose qualitative methods is because we wanted our information to be applicable for criminal justice professionals themselves. Maureen McGough from the National Institute of Justice describes that for police officers, policy related research tends to be geared towards academics (McGough, 2019). We used qualitative methods to provide more actionable and relatable feedback. However, these platforms do not always reveal the full story. Our research reveals how television shows and movies are not always accurate in portraying the roles of criminal justice professionals.

Our findings revealed that there are both realistic and overexaggerated aspects in the portrayal of criminal justice professionals in television shows and movies. Some of the overexaggerated aspects include how nearly all the television shows and movies only captured action parts of criminal justice professionals’ roles. Which creates the illusion that these roles are all about action and never have dull moments. None of the scenes captured the research and paperwork that goes along with being a criminal justice professional. On the other hand, there were some aspects of television shows and movies that the professionals found realistic. These aspects include the unusual humor police officers use to cope with the pressures of their job and the tactics lawyers use to sway a jury.

Aside from the information we received about what was real and overexaggerated in television shows and movies, we also identified some of the aspects of criminal justice roles that are omitted from television shows and movies. The professionals we interviewed also shared some of the rewarding and fulfilling aspects of their roles that are often overlooked or just unknown to the public. With the valuable information we gathered from our thesis project, we created a website (See Appendix B). The website includes profiles on the criminal justice professionals we interviewed and a summary of our findings. The purpose of this website is to reach a larger audience, so that we can inform more people about the reality of criminal justice professionals’ roles. Individuals can use our website to learn more about what the role of a criminal justice professional entails and how to prepare.
Date Created
2019-05
Agent