Joanna Pozzulo

"Eyewitnesses are likely to have some degree of familiarity with a perpetrator when a crime is committed. Despite the fact that the majority of crimes are committed by someone with whom the victim/ witness is familiar, the majority of eyewitness research has focused on the identification of stranger perpetrators. It is critical to examine how familiarity may influence eyewitness accuracy. Familiarity can vary from a complete stranger to a very familiar other. This book explores the "middle ground" as it relates to the Criminal Justice System; namely describing perpetrators, eyewitness identification, and jury decision making. The purpose of this book was to consolidate the literature that exists regarding familiarity and to apply this research to an eyewitness context. This book attempts to better understand how familiarity may impact eyewitnesses and to highlight key considerations when an eyewitness is familiar with a perpetrator while collecting eyewitness evidence and using it in a courtroom. This is achieved through an in-depth discussion of the definition of familiarity, the examination of critical social psychological and cognitive theory in relation to familiarity, a description of the current literature examining eyewitness familiarity, a discussion of familiarity-evidence in the courtroom, and a proposal for future directions and research"--

"Every year, numerous crimes involving child eyewitnesses occur. In some cases, children are the only eyewitnesses, which makes their testimony especially critical for solving the cases. But how reliable is child eyewitness evidence? This book summarizes the research on how well children can describe an event and perpetrator, which is a recall task, and how well they can identify the perpetrator in person or in photographs, which is a recognition task. Joanna Pozzulo argues that although children may be less advanced in these skills than adults, they nonetheless can provide invaluable evidence. She interprets the research in light of developmental theories, and notes practical implications for forensic investigations. Interviewing techniques that facilitate accurate recall are presented, as are lineup techniques that facilitate accurate recognition. This book is an essential resource for all forensic investigators"-- Back cover.