FREQUENT MISTAKES

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 46, 18 November 1926, Page 6

FREQUENT MISTAKES

IDENTIFICATION PARADES POLICE METHODS UNDER CRITICISM Dominion Special. Christchurch, November 17. For the .third time in the present criminal session of the Christchurch Supreme Court, a charge against a man has depended on the question of identification. Iti a case heard this morning before Mr. Justice Stringer, the Judge and counsel for the defence both criticised the methods of identification used by the police, and the jury-, in returning a verdict of not guilty, added a rider expressing the opinion that stricter methods should be used to ensure that mistakes are not made in identification parades. His Honour said that the police had adopted a very unsatisfactory way of establishing identity. The children were taken round the picture theatres to see if the man who assaulted them could be found. The children knew that they had to identify a man, and would naturally take the attitude that the man they’ sought would be present. He thought that possibly one little girl would identifv accused as the man because the other had done so. He agreed with counsel in his criticism of the method of identification at the police station. There was no earthly use in asking either adults or children to make a satisfactory identification unless there were a general resemblance of the people lined up; unless they were more or less of the same build and dressed more or less in the same sort of clothes no satisfactory identification could be made. In view of the mistakes that had so frequently been made bv adults, it was vi'rv likelv indeed that a mistake could be made by children.