Today, the Center for Prosecutor Integrity released a report that explores how police officers often manipulate evidence, which can result in a wrongful conviction. The report is based on a previous analysis by the National Registry of Exonerations, which found 35% of wrongful convictions arose from police officer misconduct.
The types of evidence manipulation are:
- Witness tampering
- Misconduct in interrogations
- Fabricating evidence
- Concealing exculpatory evidence
- Perjury at trial
Manipulation of evidence is more likely to occur when officers follow "victim-centered" methods that:
- Presume the guilt of the defendant and refer to the complainant as a “victim”
- Avoid asking probing or detailed questions in order to not “retraumatize the victim.”
- Reflexively attribute inconsistencies in the complainant’s statements to life-threatening trauma.
If we want to stop wrongful convictions, we need to discourage the use of “victim-centered” approaches, and work to restore police investigations that are impartial, balanced, and fair
The CPI report is available here: https://www.saveservices.org/2021/01/one-third-of-wrongful-convictions-involve-police-manipulation-of-evidence/