Watching the birdie watching you: Eyewitness memory for actions using CCTVrecordings of actual crimes

In this paper we describe a method of assessing eyewitness performance for actual crimes that could prove a valuable addition to more traditional expe rimental and field-based approaches to the study of eyewitnessing. We prese nt the findings of the first reported attempt to assess the accuracy of inf ormation contained in police statements given by eyewitnesses to actual cri minal episodes using CCTV as a means of verification. Employing the criteri on of using only those items that could be verified against CCTV recordings (largely action details), both victims and bystanders from eight incidents of assault were found to be highly accurate in their accounts (96% accurat e). These results are discussed in terms of what they might indicate about the relationship between arousal and eyewitness performance and how they co mpare with laboratory and other field-based approaches to the study of eyew itness memory. In addition, we consider some of the methodological, technol ogical and practical constraints associated with this novel approach and it s possible future applications to the study of everyday memory as well as m emory for unusual events. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.