The Importance Of Eyewitness

Eyewitness testimonies are a well-known evidence around the world to seek out people. It has been used in numerous cases and many people have been convicted with eyewitnesses alone. The problem is that such testimonies alone can be very inaccurate and lead to wrongful convictions. Our memory and our ability to remember is very corruptive by many factors. Some factors can be emotions, event, personal experience, stress level, and the will to help. In this assignment I will discuss what I learned about the questioning that happens during an interview, and how it impacts the response a witness may give.When we learn something new we store that information so that we won’t forget it. How much or how good we remember something is how we measure

When we get new information, we try to relate it to already existing information we posses. When we try to remember something, we try to rebuild it in our head with the information that we have. Scientists say that memory has to do more with imagination than remembering. This is called constructive memory. Constructive memory involves taking into account information that we are presented with and filling the gaps with information that we already posses. For example, when we describe a new face we tend to compare it to a face we already know. With no intention, we may visualise someone else in our head. This is an example that can explain why eyewitness testimonies can be incorrect. With that, many witnesses feel that they can not back out of a picture or a description they give, even when they feel that they are

Officers must not to ask too much of a specific and authoritarian question, as it can lead to the witness give false information because of his belief that he must give an answer. An example for this would be the use of words such as “a” or “the”. “The” in a question specifies something out, making it real in our heads. When asked a question with the word “a” instead, it gives us an option for an open answer. For example, when one group of interviewees was asked, about a video of a collision they watched, if they saw “a” broken glass, many answered that they have not. When another group, who watched the same video, was asked if they saw “the” broken glass, more people believed that there was broken glass, and said yes. There was no broken glass in the video, but some people who were asked a question in the wrong way believed that there was. It proves that the question during an interview should be neutral and not hinting on the answer. It is important to notice such questions and wordings to prevent, or minimize, an inaccurate answer. Another problem that exists during interviews is that the interviewees tend to have the feeling that they must provide an answer, even if they do not have one. People feel the need to help and “please” the interviewer with an answer as we see him/her in a higher position. We try to