Study aims to alter the way police conduct lineups

WASHINGTON - A new study says those lineups you see on television crime dramas and often used in real-life police departments are going about it all wrong.<br /> <br /> The study released Monday by the American Judicature Society says witnesses should not look at a group of people to pick a perpetrator. Instead, they should look at individuals one-by-one with a detective who doesn't know which is the real suspect.<br /> <br /> The study, conducted in four U.S. police departments, found witnesses using the sequential method were less likely to pick the innocents brought in to fill out the lineup.<br /> <br /> The theory is that witnesses using the sequential lineup will compare each person to the perpetrator in their memory, instead of to one another side-by-side to see which most looks like the criminal.