Photo Line-Up Guidance

When I created photo line-ups, known as photo arrays, also known as 6-packs, I enjoyed it. It could be a real challenge, especially when suspects had face-tattoos or extremely strange hair. 

Some mugshot database systems allow you to print photo arrays out, so you don't need a template, but that did not always work. I often used Excel to make my own template, and had my agency information on it, as well as a page with the subjects photos-only, unidentified, and a second page with their identifiers.

Guidance from the USDOJ, Eyewitness Identification: Procedures for Conducting Photo Arrays, can be found at this link.

Guidance from New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Identification Procedures: Photo Arrays and Line-ups Model Policy, can be found at this link.

Here is guidance from Nebraska's Eyewitness Identification Best Practices Toolkit, available at this link.

Photo-Array/Photo-Pack:

a. The array must contain at least six photos that are selected to match the witnesses description of the

perpetrator and include at least some persons who are similar in appearance i.e. facial hair, glasses, age etc.

b. All photos must include persons of the same race and sex as the suspect.

c. Photos should be presented in a way that does not suggest that the subjects in the photos are criminals i.e. mug-shot with numbers (Mug shots may be used, but portions of photo that would indicate that photo is mug- shot should be cropped or hidden from the witness.)

d. The officer who conducts the photo-array shall be someone who is not aware of which photo in the array is that of the suspect in the case.

e. During the process officers shall not, in any way, prompt the witness toward a particular photo.

f. Photos will not be shown at the same time as an array or six-pack, instead the photos will be shown from a stack, held by the presenter who shall present the photographs one at a time as if dealing a deck of cards to the witness.

g. If an independent administrator is not available, the investigative officer shall follow the following procedures:

I. Place the suspect photo and filler photos in separate folders. Include four (4) blank folders that contain no photograph for a total of ten (10).

II. Shuffle the folders before giving them to the witness.

III. The officer administering the array should position himself or herself so that he or she cannot see

inside the folders.

IV. Allow the eyewitness to open the folders one at a time to view the single photograph.