Credit: Baltimore Police DepartmentThree cheers for the Baltimore
Police Department, which announced that it will henceforth present
sequential double-blind photo lineups to witnesses during
investigations. The practice guards against false
identification.

According to the
Innocence Project, “witness misidentification is the single
greatest cause of wrongful conviction nationwide.” False
identification played a role in 73 percent of the 311 cases where
DNA evidence ultimately led to an exoneration.

Criminologists and psychologists
have long advocated sequential double-blind lineups—where
neither the witnesses nor the investigators showing them the photos
know if a suspect is included—because police can unintentionally
influence witnesses. “Detectives are emotionally involved in the
case as well as the victims,” Baltimore Deputy Commissioner John
Skinner tells
CBS Baltimore.

Moreover, instead of presenting multiple photos at once, police
will present mug shots sequentially. Presenting images
simultaneously can also lead to misidentification.

In addition to devastating the lives of the wrongly convicted,
false identification can mean real criminals go free. So kudos to
Baltimore police and prosecutors for admitting
past mistakes and taking steps to ensure they won’t happen
again.

Baltimore joins just a handful of cities across the country that
conduct sequential double-blind lineups. Even though there is
overwhelming evidence that the practice reduces error, police
associations and district attorneys often oppose attempts to adopt
double-blind lineups. In California, for instance, former Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed
lineup reforms after law enforcement agencies objected.  

According to the Innocence Project, Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston,
Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Tucson, and Denver conduct
double-blind lineups—as do police in New Jersey, North Carolina,
and Connecticut.

Baltimore police have also begun to
record interrogations, starting with cases involving serious
crimes. See this Reason Foundation paper
by Roger Koppl for more reforms that would improve the criminal
justice system.