On
February 9, 2014, the Prince George’s County Police Department (MD) announced
that it will start conducting photo lineups using the “double-blind” method. The
new changes will require police officers to institute two safeguards when
showing eyewitnesses a photo lineup: (1) police officers must show the witness
the photos one at a time, rather than all at once; and (2) the police officer
showing the photos must be unfamiliar with the case. The change is part of an effort to minimize
false identifications and subsequently, wrongful convictions. The accuracy of photo lineups has been a hot
topic over the past decade as DNA evidence has been used more frequently to
overturn convictions. A recent study by the innocence project found that eyewitness
misidentification plays a role in over 75% of convictions overturned by DNA
testing, making it the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions
nationwide.
