The Defendant with the Prison Tattoo: The Effect of Tattoos on Mock Jurors' Perceptions.

Little is known about the potential for tattoos to bias how defendants are perceived. In Study 1, the participants ( = 30) viewed photographs of five men with a tattoo (prison or modern style) on the face and neck or arm. Individuals with prison-style tattoos were perceived more negatively, especially when the tattoos were located on the face and neck compared to the arm.

Creating fair lineups for suspects with distinctive features.

In their descriptions, eyewitnesses often refer to a culprit's distinctive facial features. However, in a police lineup, selecting the only member with the described distinctive feature is unfair to the suspect and provides the police with little further information. For fair and informative lineups, the distinctive feature should be either replicated across foils or concealed on the target.