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Criminal Psychology

Strategies for reducing bias in collecting and processing forensic evidence

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 03

Overview

Recall questions on strategies for reducing bias in forensic evidence, including sequential unmasking, case managers, blind verification, evidence line-ups, removing case information, bias training, contamination controls, applying them to scenarios, and testing whether they work.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Give an example of case information that should be removed from a laboratory submission form.

Process

Name one strategy for reducing bias in the processing of forensic evidence.

Key term

Explain how sequential unmasking works in a fingerprint comparison.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Name one strategy for reducing bias in the processing of forensic evidence.

    Model answer

    Linear sequential unmasking, in which case information is released to the examiner only in a controlled order.

  2. 2

    Explain how sequential unmasking works in a fingerprint comparison.

    Model answer

    The examiner analyses and records the features of the crime scene mark in full before being shown the suspect's print, so expectation cannot shape what is seen in the mark.

  3. 3

    What is the role of a case manager in a context management system?

    Model answer

    The case manager receives all the case information and passes on to the examiner only what is needed to do the comparison, withholding details such as a confession or previous convictions.

  4. 4

    What is blind verification?

    Model answer

    A second examiner repeats the comparison without knowing either the first examiner's conclusion or the surrounding case details.

  5. 5

    Why is ordinary verification a weaker safeguard than blind verification?

    Model answer

    Because a verifier who already knows the first examiner's conclusion tends to look for reasons to agree, so the check simply repeats the original error.

  6. 6

    How does an evidence line-up reduce bias?

    Model answer

    The genuine suspect's print is presented among several similar prints from people known to be innocent, so the examiner cannot simply confirm the one print they were expecting to match.

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