In Dallas, where numerous convictions based on eyewitness testimony have been overturned, police are scrapping a planned study of photo lineup methods and adopting one some experts say is the best.
The technique, called "sequential blind lineups," is believed to reduce the number of eyewitness misidentifications. Dallas police say they hope to implement the method as soon as possible.
The Washington, D.C. -based Urban Institute was slated to oversee the study but the research group's funding for the project ran out and chief said the department could not wait any longer to improve its procedures.
"The study was taking way too long, and even with the results, I don't know that it would change where we would end up," Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said.
In sequential blind lineups, the actual suspect is not known even to the detective showing the photos -- one at a time -- to the witness.
Usually, a detective shows a witness at least six pictures of possible suspects at the same time, but critics say the detective's body language and verbal cues can unintentionally taint results.
Experts say the wrong person is less likely to be chosen if photos are viewed sequentially. It also keeps a witness from comparing one person to another and picking someone who closely resembles the criminal.
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Misidentifications are a key factor in an estimated 75 percent of the 220 wrongful convictions exposed by DNA testing nationwide since 1989. Dallas County has had more DNA-based exonerations than any other place in the nation since 2001, when state law began allowing post-DNA testing.
All but one of the 19 DNA-based exonerations in Dallas County were because of faulty eyewitness testimony, according to a Dallas Morning News investigation published last fall. Dallas police made the arrests in 13 of those cases.
Seven other police departments in Texas use sequential blind lineup methods, including the Dallas suburbs of Richardson and Lewisville.
Dallas will implement the photo lineup change after the policy and protocol are developed and training is completed, hopefully before the spring, Dallas police Lt. David Pughes said Friday.
Dr. Gary Wells, an Iowa State University psychology professor who developed the sequential blind method, said the Dallas chief's decision "tells me that the DPD is genuinely interested in doing something about this problem and has no interest in latching on to convenient excuses."
