Small police departments like the one in Conway, NH indicate they may lack training in photo array procedures, etc.

OSSIPEE — A Harvard-educated psychologist, who
trains police how to conduct photo lineups, testified
last week that Conway detectives could have taken
several simple steps to minimize the chance that the
victim in a 2008 rape fingered the wrong man.

The chief Conway detective administering the
lineup knew which of the eight photos was Perri.
That violates “standard practice” in research and
is easily avoided by using an officer who cannot
tip off the witness, intentionally, or unintentionally,”
said Dr. Steven Penrod, a clinical psychology
professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
in New York.

“I would want my administrator not to know who
the suspect is, what we call blind,” he said Thursday,
noting witness confi dence in their selections
can be “pushed around” by reactions of administrators.
The retired lead detective, Joe Faia, testifying
Thursday as a defense witness, told jurors that his
only training in lineups came on the job. He said
he could not recall any formal coursework, adding
that detective Alan Broyer created the seven other
photos using computer software and descriptions
of Perri.

“I’ve prepared many photo lineups in many
cases,” said Faia. “I prepared them as I was
taught.” “It’s hard to do with a small police department,”
he added.

Public defenders John Bresaw and Eric Wolpin
have suggested Conway police told the woman
that the suspect’s photo was in fact in the array.
“I think it’s very bad. It’s basically saying to the
witness we’ve brought you down here because we
got somebody who we think did it,” Penrod said.
But county prosecutor Susan Boone noted multiple
factors made Faia’s lineup “more reliable,”
including that all eight photos resembled Perri in
some way and that the victim was exposed to his
face for a long time.

Link:(Pages 11 and 12)
http://www.laconiadailysun.com/pdf/2010/9/7.pdf