The police in Trinidad & Tobago are mandated to conduct thorough and proper investigations before a criminal charge is laid. One critical aspect of the investigation is ensuring that they have the right suspect in custody, therefore, obtaining identification evidence is very important.
Identification Evidence is used to identify a suspect as the person that allegedly committed a crime. The police must first make a record of a description, first given by the witness before any identification procedure is conducted. Once they have recorded the description given by the witness, they will then embark upon the identification procedure whereby the witness will confirm whether or not the suspect is in fact the person they purportedly saw.
Eye-witnesses are very valuable to a criminal investigation. However, just like any other human being an eye witness may be mistaken. For example, in our everyday lives we often see someone from behind or from a distance and thought it was someone we knew, but upon a closer look we realized that we were incorrect. We may even call out to them and embarrassingly apologize.
Therefore, in Trinidad and Tobago, we have safeguards that allow for the proper testing of eyewitness’ accounts and protect the alleged suspect from being wrongly identified at the beginning of investigations. There are different forms of identification procedures such as identification parades, confrontation and/or verification, identification from video footage, and even voice recognition which are commonly used by the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service. The guidelines for conducting these identification procedures are contained in the Judges’ Rules and the Police Standing Orders.
When a suspect is known and available, an identification procedure must be held:
- Where a witness expresses the ability to identify the suspect;
- That witness has identified the suspect prior to identification procedure (for example, the witness has said that they knew the suspect from before and recognised him/her); and
- The suspect disputes being the person the witness has seen.
The relevant identification procedure that is conducted by the police will depend on the nature of the circumstances of the case.
Identification Parades
The identification parade is one of the most common identification procedures utilized by the police during investigations in Trinidad & Tobago. It involves the suspect being placed in a “line-up” with at least eight other persons.
The purpose of an identification parade is to test the ability of the witness to identify the suspect. According to Police Standing Order 29, the identification parade is necessary where:
- The available identification evidence is disputed; or
- The suspect asks for one and it is practicable to hold one, or;
- The officer in charge of the investigation considers that it would be useful.
Additionally, the members of the parade should resemble the suspect, as far as it is possible, in terms of race, colour, age, height and general appearance. The persons who form a part of the parade should wear similar type clothing as well. If the accused has identifying marks, efforts should be made for those marks to be concealed. The suspect can also change positions with other persons in the line-up.
An identification parade is not required if it is impractical or unnecessary to determine the suspect’s involvement in the crime. It may not be held where the person claims to know the suspect for a length of time.
These requirements are necessary to preserve the integrity of the exercise in terms of its fairness. It is important to note that the suspect must be informed of his legal rights and privileges such as having a legal representative present, or a friend or relative, or a Justice of the Peace. Usually, the suspect’s consent to participate in the identification parade is required, however, if the suspect refuses, he can be placed on a confrontation/verification exercise.
Confrontation and/or Verification
A confrontation is often called a verification exercise. This procedure is adopted where the witness has already identified the suspect and given details about the suspect, especially when they claim to have known the suspect beforehand. Therefore, this procedure is adopted to ensure that the police has found the right suspect who the witness has identified. This process does not require the suspect's consent. It involves a one-on-one meeting with the suspect and the witness, unlike an identification parade. For example, the suspect can be brought to a carpark or in a public place or even in a room at the police station and the witness is given an opportunity to point out the suspect if they can.
Identification via CCTV and/or Other Visual Images
The use of cameras has increased the number of cases in which crimes are recorded. Therefore, the prosecution may prove the identification of suspects from such images. These videos and images can be relied on in the following instances:
• When the photographic image is sufficiently clear the judge or jury can compare it with the accused in Court.
• When a witness knows the accused sufficiently well to recognise him as the person depicted in the photographic image, he can give identification evidence.
Conclusion
Visual identification procedures are very valuable tools to any criminal investigation. However, it is important that the police conduct their investigations in accordance with the guidelines to ensure fairness.
Submitted by:
Aleena Ramjag
Public Defender II Junior
Public Defenders’ Department
Legal Aid and Advisory Authority,
23 Stanmore Avenue, Port of Spain.
Contact: 638-5222
Email:
Website: www.laaa.org.tt
