ID parade at garda station

mikemac1

Something I've always wondered, where do these people come from?

So we'll say there I was strolling through Ballyfermot, sun shining, birds singing, children playing when a gouger in a grey tracksuit, white runners, a Dub accent and stubble knocked me over and stole my ipod

Went to the station, made a statement and gave all the info including likely height and weight and a few days later my garda tells me to come down for an ID parade

Where do the others come from?
Are they volunteers? But why would anyone volunteer for this.

I can't believe the garda pull in several people for the same crime.

So how does it work?

I can't figure it out

If the Gardaí have already identified a suspect, they should not show the witness photographs but should conduct an identification parade (ID parade). This is because if the witness has already seen a photograph of the suspect, it may affect the witness’s judgement at the ID parade. At the end of the trial, the judge will warn the jury that the ID parade is suspect evidence because the witness had already seen a photograph of the accused.

ID parades are dependent on the suspect’s co-operation. Where a suspect refuses to participate, the Gardaí are entitled to obtain identification by informal means (for example, where a witness points out the suspect on the street). However, it is considered that a formal ID parade is much more reliable and whether informal identification will be admitted as evidence depends on the circumstances of the case.

The advantage of holding an ID parade is that it is a controlled process and the suspect’s solicitor is allowed to attend to ensure that the process is carried out correctly. While ID parades are frequently used by the Gardaí, the process is not provided for in law. There are, however, a number of formalities or rules which have developed over time as a result of case law in Ireland. The following are the main rules in relation to the holding of ID parades:



ID parades should be conducted by a Garda officer who is not connected with the crime but who has been made familiar with the circumstances of the case and information relevant to the witness.

The witness should not see the accused being arrested or taken from custody to the parade room.

If several witnesses are required to attempt to identify the suspect they should be kept apart before and after the parade to minimise consultation between them.

The witness should be asked to identify the suspect from a line of 8 to 12 people, chosen because they look similar to the suspect.

When the volunteers have been arranged in a line, the suspect should be asked if he has any objections to the composition or appearance of the parade.

When the parade is completed, the accused and his solicitor should be asked whether he has any comments to make with regard to the parade.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/justice/evidence/identification_evidence.html

muletide

Soldiers, college students, random punters on street

ANXIOUS

They use to call the registrar in my college for students.

mikemac1

Do they get something in expenses?

Might seem a stupid question but I'm genuinely asking

Or are they just ordered to go? Civic duty

fasttalkerchat

mikemac1 wrote: »

Do they get something in expenses?

Might seem a stupid question but I'm genuinely asking

Or are they just ordered to go? Civic duty

I would assume a days wages and travel and lunch.

ScouseMouse

When I was a trainee manager in a supermarket years ago, the cops used to come in and ask us to help out. I went down with another guy and it lasted about an hour. Then they dropped us back to work. Happy to help.

Delancey

A friend of mine was stopped in the street years ago and asked to go to Store Street for ID parade - he went along and said it was interesting.

I have my doubts that any expenses paid would amount to much ?

mattjack

I did a few I.D. parades with a few friends when I was younger, one of my friends father was a Garda and he used promise us a feed of drink if we did a parade.No actual expenses other than free drink.

One of the funniest ones was when the bloke arrested reckoned he was at a disadvantage because he had a 'Borstal Spot' on his face and none of the rest of us had.

His solicitor asked us if five of us would mind having a spot of marker dotted on our faces.

Needless to say the only marker the Gardai could find was one with a square tip about half a centimetre square.The lad arrested had his 'Borstal Spot' covered with the marker , permanent of course , along with five more of us.

The victim couldn't pick him out in the end .I had marker on my face for about a week afterwards.

falan

Living in England as a 16 year old in the mid nineties, i was once at a football match with a friend. We got asked by a cop if we would be interested in doing a few i.d parades. We used to get £25 for maybe an hours work and half the time we wouldn't even have to do it, just go down the station and still get paid:) Was a nice little earner at that age.

Potential-Monke

The general public are asked to help in these situations. Usually go to the college campus and look for similar looking people to the potential suspect. It's all out of the public's good heart, no expenses that i know of (not when i needed one anyway). Most people would be willing to do it as a matter of interest.

Thing with id parades is that they are more or less useless. Too many court cases and specialist reports stating that id parades are unsatisfactory evidence as the memory of a witness is probably unreliable. Your brain starts to make stuff up to join the dots. A positive ID is never, ever taken as definite evidence, only added to whatever else is there.

I remember being shown a 1 minutes video clip of a staged robbery. We knew nothing about it beforehand, and were just shown the clip. Half of us then had to act as witnesses while the other half were investigating. Every one of us had a different story/description and i don't think any of us actually managed to id the suspect.

Then there were studies and tests done that prove that if one person says one thing, other witnesses who heard it will agree even if they can't confirm that what the other person said is what they saw. I recommend looking into the reliability of id parades, loads of youtube stuff on it. Quite shocking some of it.

Johnny Meagher

I heard of one instance where Pearse St gardaí called on Dept Health staff behind them in Hawkins House to stand in. Unfortunately they were all identified. HA HA HA. No actually, I made the last bit up.

Gee Bag

Potential-Monke wrote: »

The general public are asked to help in these situations. Usually go to the college campus and look for similar looking people to the potential suspect. It's all out of the public's good heart, no expenses that i know of (not when i needed one anyway). Most people would be willing to do it as a matter of interest.

Thing with id parades is that they are more or less useless. Too many court cases and specialist reports stating that id parades are unsatisfactory evidence as the memory of a witness is probably unreliable. Your brain starts to make stuff up to join the dots. A positive ID is never, ever taken as definite evidence, only added to whatever else is there.

I remember being shown a 1 minutes video clip of a staged robbery. We knew nothing about it beforehand, and were just shown the clip. Half of us then had to act as witnesses while the other half were investigating. Every one of us had a different story/description and i don't think any of us actually managed to id the suspect.

Then there were studies and tests done that prove that if one person says one thing, other witnesses who heard it will agree even if they can't confirm that what the other person said is what they saw. I recommend looking into the reliability of id parades, loads of youtube stuff on it. Quite shocking some of it.

The invisible gorilla test is great for demonstaring the unreliabilty of eyewitness testimony.

http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/

stiffler123

I've been in an ID parade before. They just come up to you on the street and ask you to do it. 5 of us had to wear normal clothes and 5 had to wear tracksuits. I was expecting see through glass etc like the movies, but it wasn't the case..

stiffler123

stiffler123 wrote: »

I've been in an ID parade before. They just come up to you on the street and ask you to do it. 5 of us had to wear normal clothes and 5 had to wear tracksuits. I was expecting see through glass etc like the movies, but it wasn't the case..

We can't afford see through glass. You have to pretend it's there in that hole in the wall!

TheChizler

Is the victim visible to the line up??

Potential-Monke

Yup, unfortunately, so very few are willing depending on the type of offence.

Our man in Havana

What happens if someone else other than the suspect is picked out?

fasttalkerchat

Our man in Havana wrote: »

What happens if someone else other than the suspect is picked out?

The guard nudges the witness along until they reach the suspect, at which point he clears his throat and winks twice.

goldie fish

Our man in Havana wrote: »

What happens if someone else other than the suspect is picked out?

He is led off to a long sentence for posession of an offensive appearance.