Criminology - for Masters in Criminology

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Abstract

The criminal justice system has for a long time relied on eyewitnesses to establish the facts which surround the criminal events in any given case . Eyewitnesses may help the court to recall conversations , identify culprits , or to remember any other details . An eye witness who is confident and has no intention to lie , is a powerful tool of evidence for the jurors . Where an eyewitness is not contradicted by any other definitive proof , the account of the witness is accepted by the

br prosecutors , the police , juries and the judges . However , the introduction of forensic DNA mode of testing , has recently shaken the faith which the legal system had previously placed on eye witnesses When afforded the right circumstances , DNA testing can show and prove that , a person who had been convicted of a certain crime was not guilty but innocent . Since 1992 , the concept of DNA testing has been applied to analyze rulings stated earlier , relying on eye witnesses identification and proved that , most of the people who had been convicted on reliance of eyewitnesses evidence were in fact innocent Obtaining accurate information from children is very difficult , this is mainly because of the violations in the due process by unreliable and inaccurate hearsay . The interviewing techniques have been compromised and affects the reliability of testimony given by children . This will look into the serious questions about the reliability and accuracy of eyewitness testimony , and especially the contentious issue about the credibility of a minor 's testimony

Introduction

This will describe the empirical form of evidence , supporting the argument that , most of the problems facing the eyewitness evidence can be addressed by putting proper mechanisms in place to improve the way of collecting evidence and preserving it (Alinsworth , 2000 . The will look at the interview procedure of the eyewitnesses , taking the child abuse case as the best example , and show the procedure of conducting lineups , and how any procedure can influence the resulting value of the eyewitness testimony . This presents us to the system variables which are under the justice system control . According to Brewer Wilson (1995 , many researchers have argued that , the variable system has been effective in solving the problem of collecting and preserving evidence

The importance of the variable system is that , eye witness mistakes can be reduced by realizing the traditional safeguard inadequacies against witness errors , such as the way of availing a counsel during lineups and the presentation of motions to limit suggestive procedures Dent Flint (1992 ) posited that , though the variable system has helped in solving most of the problems in the process of collecting evidence other factors touching the system are still present and attribute to witness errors . This portrays the importance of any other factor which may be non-system-controlled . The will therefore focus on practices and procedures , as well as research which has dealt with factors which commonly threaten the credibility and reliability of eyewitness evidence

According to McGuire (2002 , the number...