Policy Text
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ADULT LINE-UP PROCEDURES
The purpose of this order is to outline the procedures for cond ucting physical line-ups,
photographic line-ups, and show -ups for an adult suspect.
I. General
When possible, requests for a ph ysical line-up should be made t o the Main Jail
line-up officer at least 24-hours in advance. Notification of l ess than 24 hours
requires exceptional circumstanc es and the approval of the Main Jail watch
commander. In no circumstance c an a request be acted upon in le ss than three
hours. Line-ups are scheduled at t he Main Jail at either 1000 h ours or 1300
hours, Monday through Friday. The request shall include the pre ferred date and
time, and the name and descripti on of the suspect. A photograph of the suspect
may be necessary.
II. Preparation and Conduct
A. The following procedures are the responsibility of the reque sting officer
prior to the time of the line-up.
1. The request shall be made to the line-up officer either in p erson or
by phone.
2. Arrange for a deputy District A ttorney to be present who sha ll notify
the suspect’s attorney to be pr esent, unless waived by the susp ect.
3. Arrange to have victim(s) and/ or witnesses present on time.
4. Provide each victim/witness with a line-up information sheet (Form
7400-235, available from CID) and ensure they read and
understand the instructions prior to entering the line-up room.
5. Furnish the line-up officer wit h any necessary aids; e.g., h at, coat,
glasses, etc.
6. Line-up photographs are taken by the line-up officer upon re quest.
The requesting officer shall take possession of the photos or m edia
and book into evidence and attach them to the crime report.
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7. At the conclusion of each vi ewing, the requesting officer sh all
ensure each victim/witness comp letes a line-up information shee t
concerning their ability to ident ify any of the line-up partici pants.
B. The requesting officer or des ignee shall co nduct the line-up . The line-up
officer will assist as needed.
C. The witness/victim s hall be given the following instructions prior to any
identification procedure.
1. The suspect may or may not b e among the persons in the line- up.
2. The witness is not obli gated to identify anyone.
3. An identification or failure to make an identification will not end the
investigation.
D. The officer/investigator conduc ting the identification proce dure shall use
“Blind Administration” or “Blinded Administration” during the
process. If applicable and the ci rcumstances prohibit the use o f
blind/blinded administr ation the officer/investigator shall doc ument in the
report the reason(s) why this method could not be used.
1. Blind Administration - means the administrator of the identification
procedure does not know the identity of the suspect.
2. Blinded Administration - means the administrator of the
identification pr ocedure may know who the suspect is, but does not
know where the suspect is pos itioned within the line-up.
E. If the witness/victim identif ies a person he or she believes is the suspect,
the officer shall immediately inquire as to the witness’ confid ence level in
the accuracy of the i dentification and record in writing, verba tim, what the
witness/victim states. Do not a cknowledge to the witness/victim as to
whether they were able to co rrectly identify the suspect.
F. An electronic recording sha ll be made that includes both aud io and visual
representations of the identific ation procedures. When it is no t feasible to
make a recording using both audio and visual methods, an audio
recording may be used. Document i n the report the reason a vide o
recording was not used.
G. All eyewitnesses shall be s eparated when vie wing an identifi cation
procedure. Nothing shall be said to the eyewitness that might i nfluence the
eyewitness’ identification of t he person suspected as the perpe trator.
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1. Persons not in custody, o ther than the defendant, will not b e
allowed to stand in the line-up. On ly one suspected perpetrator
shall be included in any ident ification procedure.
H. Cancellation of the Line-Up
1. It is the responsibility of t he requesting officer to notify the line-up
officer of the cancellation of a scheduled line-up 24 hours in
advance. In the absence of the line-up officer, the requesting officer
shall notify jail control withi n 24 hours if t he line-up is can celled.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment A Line-up Instructions - Live 7400-235