Researchers investigating eyewitness testimonies are appealing to the public to help them with their studies which they hope will ultimately help improve the Criminal Justice System.

With more young children and teenagers being called as eyewitnesses, the University of Aberdeen team also want more city schools to get involved with their forensic research.

The University's Eyewitness Research Group has received funding in the region of £500,000  to conduct new studies which will use psychological techniques to get the most out of eyewitness statements.

Professor Amina Memon, Chair in Psychology and Head of the Eyewitness Research Group, said: "We are conducting a range of exciting new studies that will explore what factors influence the quality of eyewitness evidence in simulated eyewitness situations in a number of different ways.

"We will look at what characterises true and possibly false statements. We will also examine something called "source confusion" which is when people have difficulty remembering where they obtained a piece of information.

"The reliability and accuracy of eye witness statements is extremely important for the prosecution and the defence and we hope the results of our studies will enhance justice."

Joanne Fraser, Research Assistant in the University's School of Psychology, is involved in one of the research projects that will explore the different thought processes involved when witnesses are giving a statement.

She said: "There is evidence that suggests that people who are giving a false account are more likely to make speculations or inferences about why someone is acting in a given way for example 'I guess that he must work here because he just came straight in.' They are also more likely to refer to their own thought processes, for example: 'He must have asked me because I was closest to him.'

"True events tend to be characterised by eyewitness' vivid references to sensory, auditory and olfactory details – what you saw, heard and could smell at the time."

Psychology Research Assistant Lynsey Kidd is involved in the source confusion research. She said: "This is when you attribute something you saw to another context, such as someone confusing a dream with reality.  

"Perhaps someone might witness a crime but then read about it later in the newspapers - are they able to separate what they saw with what else they gleaned from the media?  What is new about this research is we are trying to see if there is a way of interviewing witnesses so that even if source confusion has occurred it is still possible to get an accurate statement from them." 

Dr Catriona Havard, Research Fellow, is examining the issues surrounding the introduction of the Vulnerable Witness Bill which sets out measures to allow children and vulnerable people to give evidence.

She said: "To date no research studies have examined how well children and adolescents can make positive identifications from video identification parades.

"Our research sets out to examine the quality of eyewitness evidence obtained from vulnerable witnesses subjected to video parades utilising the Video Identification Procedure Electronic Recording (VIPER) system."

Part of that research will involve Dr Havard visiting primary and secondary schools and showing children a "live" event involving someone they have not seen before. A return visit by the researcher will involve checking children's face recognition skills using the VIPER system. Some primary schools have already participated in this project.

Dr Havard will also be using a procedure whereby some children will view a line up with a suspect and others will view a line-up where the suspect is not present.

She added: "Children sometimes feel like they have to pick someone from the line-up.

"We will be looking at whether children are able to carry out the task and whether their facial recognition skills develop with age, hence the need to work with children of different ages.

Professor Memon added: "We are hoping that the information we gather may provide us with some clues as to the reliability of eyewitness evidence in a given case. For example, a recording of the initial interview with a witness could provide information about how the witness was questioned and whether appropriate procedures were followed when dealing with vulnerable witnesses. Obviously the statement alone cannot tell us whether a witness is telling the truth or lying but having a record of the interview will help ensure best practice is followed.

"We hope our findings will ultimately benefit the Criminal Justice System, whether it's the prosecution or the defence."

Funding for the research projects has come from a variety of sources which includes the European Framework Six Programme "New and Emerging Science and Technology", the Economic and Social Research Council and the Scottish Institute of Policing Research.

Volunteers wishing to get involved in the studies should ring Lynsey or Joanne on 01224 273279 or email href="mailto:eyewitnesslab@abdn.ac.uk">eyewitnesslab@abdn.ac.uk</a>.</p>