Face Recognition and Description Abilities in People with Mild Intellectual Disabilities

Abstract

The practical implications of these findings in forensic settings are discussed.

Intellectual and developmental disabilities and the criminal justice system.

“…Wilcock and Henry (2013) found that adults with ID had poorer performance in identifying perpetrators during a line-up compared with adults without ID. Yet, although performance was poorer, Gawrylowicz et al (2013) found that the difference was not significant and indicated that individuals with ID may be of assistance to the police during eyewitness tasks that rely on face recognition, such as identification in a line-up or looking though a mug-shot book. The research on this topic is limited and must be taken with caution, because, according to The Innocence Project (2018), mistaken identification evidence is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States.…”

“…Many individuals with ID and ASD have social cue deficits and limited vocabulary to describe victimization or perpetrators. The accuracy of initial interviews by police may be problematic if a supportive questioning format is not followed (Brown et al, 2017;Gawrylowicz et al, 2013).…”

“…Research with children and adults with ID has shown that open-ended questions or prompts (e.g., "Tell me what happened") tend to yield reasonably accurate accounts, but the amount and detail of information provided is more limited than would be provided by members of the general population (Gawrylowicz et al, 2013;Kebbell & Davies, 2003;Maras & Wilcock, 2013). Maras and Wilcock (2013) successfully used free recall and open-ended prompts to reduce suggestibility in witnesses with ID and ASD.…”

“…Individuals with ID (including those with ASD) often have impaired communication skills that can be especially challenging during interviewing and testifying in court. Limited information processing speed as well as impaired cognitive skills affecting memory, language comprehension, and decision making can influence ability and willingness to report crimes (Gawrylowicz et al, 2013). Many individuals with ID and ASD have social cue deficits and limited vocabulary to describe victimization or perpetrators.…”