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Accuracy and Credibility of the Elderly Witness1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

A. Daniel Yarmey
A. Daniel Yarmey
Affiliation:
University of Guelph
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Abstract

Competency of witnesses depends upon the accuracy of their memory and their credibility. This paper addresses both of these factors with respect to the elderly. First, a review of the accuracy of the elderly eyewitness in recall and identification of a criminal suspect relative to that of young adults is presented. Secondly, the results of a study testing the perceptions of the legal community and the general public toward the elderly witness are given. And thirdly, the attitudes of the elderly toward police officers, trial judges, crown attorneys, and defense lawyers are discussed. Young adults were found to be seven to 20 per cent more accurate on the average than elderly subjects in recall for crime-related events and in the identification of a suspect. However, results also showed that some elderly subjects are equally as accurate as young adults in the visual identification of a suspect. Police officers, lawyers, probation officers, the general public, and elderly subjects rated the elderly witness relatively high in understandability, activity, potency, and evaluation. These judgements suggest that the credibility of the elderly witness is favorable. Finally, the study showed that elderly subjects perceive trial judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers positively, and they are particularly supportive of the police.

Résumé

L'habilité à témoigner repose sur la fidélité de la mémoire et sur la crédibilité du témoignage. Dans la présente communication, nous examinons ces deux facteurs chez les témoins âgés. Nous comparons, premièrement, l'aptitude des témoins oculaires âgés au rappel et à l'identification des suspects avec celle des adultes jeunes. Deuxièmement, nous présentons les résultats d'une étude portant sur la manière dont les témoins âgés sont perçus par les professionnels de la justice et le public en général. Troisièmement, nous considérons l'attitude des personnes âgés à l'égard des agents de police, des juges, des avocats de la demand et de la défense. Les résultats indiquent que l'aptitude des jeunes au rappel des événements entourant un crime ainsi qu'à l'identification des suspects est supérieure à celle des témoins âgés dans la proporation de 20 pour cent. Ces résultats indiquent cependant que certains témoins âgés sont aussi fidèles que les jeunes en ce qui concerne l'identification visuelle des suspects. Les agents de police, avocats, délégués à la liberté surveillée, le public en général ainsi que les personnes âgées elle-mêmes ont une opinion relativement bonne de la compréhension, de l'activité, de la capacité et du jugement des témoins âgés. Ces résultats permettent de croire que la crédibilité des témoins âgés est favorable. Enfin, l'étude montre que les sujets âgés ont une attitude favorable à l'égard des juges et des avocats tant de la demande que de la défense, et qu'ils sont particulièrement bien disposés à l'égard de la police.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , June 1984 , pp. 79 - 90
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1984

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