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Abstract: London’s Metropolitan Police has recently established a team of “super-recognisers” to identify suspects. Limited attention has been given to the use to which their evidence may properly be put during investigations, formal interviews and prosecutions. This article explores the ways investigators have approached the identifi cation of persons of interest in crime-related images and the use of this evidence at trial. It explains that the courts have largely been inattentive to scientifi c research; particularly notorious diffi culties and the (un)reliability of much image interpretation and comparison. Following a review of admissibility jurisprudence in England and Australia and relevant scientifi c research, it concludes that the strategic use of those with enhanced abilities — to recognise familiar faces and to match unfamiliar faces — would improve the reliability of identifi cations and offer the potential to circumvent the dangers of unreliability, bias and contamination that threatens current police and expert practice.
Keywords: identifi cation; images; expert evidence; CCTV; police familiars; super-recogniser; Code D
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