New Scientific Limits for Carrying Out Personal Recognition in Crim-Inal Investigations: Unrepeatable Recognition and Requirement of Well-Founded Suspicion to Carry Out the Recognition Procedure

Abstract

The recognition of people is a means of proof widely used in the practice of Brazilian criminal investigations, and the inadequate application of this instrument has been a source of serious judicial errors, requiring the help of knowledge from the psychology of testimony to improve this means of evidence. In this article, some peculiarities of this investigative procedure were discussed which, once understood, will make it possible to improve the accuracy of this means of proof, being verified based on bibliographical research the uniqueness of the recognition procedure and the need for a minimum of previous elements of proof to be verified. provide this means of proof (need for well-founded suspicion), demonstrating that the diligence of recognition, as it is extremely suggestive, must be handled only once during the investigation, and that only after obtaining minimal evidence that links the suspect in the alignment with the crime being investigated, with a view to making the aforementioned procedure safer and avoiding the greater occurrence of judicial errors in the handling of this investigative technique.