Appearing in a police line up?

spearmintsorbet

Does anyone know how to get into this area? obviously to appear as a 'red herring' or extra option in the line. Do they select only from those with criminal backgrounds or from the general public?

Would be very interested to hear from anyone who has done it.

spacey2012

I though they used video line ups these days from models and inserted the geek in the sequence, minus the stage lighting and makeup

paulofessex

lol reminds me of how several years ago l was regularly stopped by officers in the town centre asking if l could spare an hour to take part in an identity parade, they said that l had the roguish look, didn't know if to be insulted or pleased as it led to £15 cash each time.

paddyrg

Did it once in Brum - the police don't want career models, they want people to a different spec each time (white, stubbly beard, tallish, whatever the witness described) and have a quick sweep round the streets to find people. They specifically don't want the same people over and over as they could be recognised for being themselves from previous lineups!

When I did it, the police were actually really lovely to everyone, including the arrested person. They saw he had a distinctive tattoo and offered to help find a way to cover it as the tattoo hadn't been mentioned in the witness statement and looked intimidating in itself. We sat in an informal setting, not a line-up, but distributed around a room, some playing cards, etc. Perhaps this set-up was down to the circumstances of the offence. We all followed occasional instructions, and afterwards the arrested guy even gave sincere thanks to us all for helping out. Who knows if or what he was guilty of, but it was a nice touch. We then were given a fiver each (20 yrs ago) and a few of us went to the pub.

dandelionclock30

I thought they had scrapped this now and the victim looks at various photos on the computer instead compiled from a database. Just ring up the main police station in your area or email them and ask.

colino

Reminds me of the chaos caused when a local guy who was always stealing cars by deception, was arrested yet again. Because he was so enormous (the guy was in his mid 20's, both in years and stone) the compromise was everyone stood behind a screen of sheets with only their heads showing!

mm123

yes all scrapped now its all video clips..

Thrift3r

I'd never even knew the police used to pay people to be in line-ups, pretty ignorant of me I suppose. It's a shame it's been scrapped!!

Denning.

Thrift3r wrote: »

I'd never even knew the police used to pay people to be in line-ups, pretty ignorant of me I suppose. It's a shame it's been scrapped!!

No it isn't, it cost money.

Thrift3r

Denning. wrote: »

No it isn't, it cost money.

You're right. I guess anything that save's the police force money saves us all money in the long run.

skivenov

Me and a mate used to do it now and again a lot of years ago, normally got £10 or £20 for it, which isn't bad when you're a student. I was talking to a police officer a few years back and mentioned it, and he said they don't do them anymore, they use pictures on a computer.