Children's Identification Accuracy of Multiple Perpetrators: Examining the Simultaneous versus Elimination Line-up

Abstract

Identification accuracy of child witnesses for a multiple perpetrator crime was examined using two line-up procedures, the simultaneous and elimination. Participants (N = 90) viewed a videotape of a staged theft involving two perpetrators (thief vs. accomplice). Each witness was shown two line-ups. Target-present and target-absent line-ups were used with each procedure across each perpetrator. Collapsing across line-up procedure, child witnesses correctly identified the thief and the accomplice at a comparable rate. When the thief was present in the line-up, the correct identification rate did not vary as a function of line-up procedure. However, when the accomplice was present in the line-up, the rate of correct identification was higher with the simultaneous procedure than with the elimination procedure. When the thief was absent from the line-up, the correct rejection rate was higher with the elimination procedure compared with the simultaneous procedure. Child witnesses correctly rejected the accomplice at a comparable rate across line-up procedures.