Forensic Science Teaching Lab: Wrexham
Undergraduate students use the forensic suite to learn about false eyewitness testimony in the memory component of the module.
Students are taken to a crime scene in a house based on campus and given time to explore the evidence. Later, in the classroom they are asked questions separately about what they think happened there and then specific questions are asked about the crime scene.
It has been found that asking certain types of questions can get people to distort their representation of what they think they saw, which is then reflected in the answers they provide. This seminar reflects upon the implication of these answers in eyewitness testimonies and how these questions may be asked in a court of law or to vulnerable witnesses such as children to get a more positive and realistic answer.
