DENVER – A new statewide standard for eyewitness identifications cleared a Colorado Senate committee 5-0 Monday after lawmakers heard from crime victims, prosecutors and police – who all agreed that eyewitnesses can be unreliable.
The bill would require a new statewide standard for gathering evidence from eyewitnesses. Colorado would become the 12th state to overhaul procedures for eyewitness identifications in criminal prosecutions.
Colorado’s bill would create a statewide standard already followed by many police agencies. For example, witnesses would have to be told when reviewing a lineup that the perpetrator might not be in the lineup.
Police would also have to tell witnesses that the investigation will continue whether or not the eyewitness identifies an alleged perpetrator. That caveat helps reduce witness concerns that the perpetrator won’t be caught if they don’t pick someone in a lineup.
On the Net
Senate Bill 58: http://bit.ly/1zjfJYL
