Psychology of perceptual error in forensic practice

Cognitive bias in forensic science has been highlighted with some key case studies. Notably, concerns about bias in fingerprint matching were raised after a significant misidentification in identifying a suspect in the 2004 Madrid Bombings. Psychological research on fingerprint matching grew in the aftermath of this case. The research showed that analysts are vulnerable to relying on information beyond the target samples to draw judgments. To date, there has not been a detailed examination of cognitive bias in forensic gait analysis. However, from wider knowledge on bias in forensic science and the psychology associated with human gait, there are three potential heuristics that could influence an analyst’s work. First, comparing gait requires the same forced-passive perception as other image-based comparison in forensic analysis. The second challenge for a gait analyst is that the comparing activity is dependent on observing the questioned and reference person’s body. Thirdly, gait itself provides opportunities for our heuristics to guide thinking.