ABSTRACT
Miscarriages of justice invariably draw attention to police incompetence and sometimes to police corruption (MacPherson 1999). Psychologists have made significant contributions to identifying what the investigatory processes are, drawing attention to their weaknesses and making recommendations for their improvement that can minimise the risk of wrongful conviction. There are however no grounds for complacency and plenty for continued vigilance. Stephenson reviewed the psychology of criminal justice and concluded that,
at each stage of criminal processing, findings have been accumulated that seriously challenge conventional views and assumptions about the propriety of the system. This knowledge should be used to fuel critical evaluation of the law’s activities. (Stephenson 1992: 243)
This chapter will consider miscarriages of justice primarily in the United Kingdom and the response by its government and criminal justice agencies. Although the criminal justice systems in the UK and the United States of America share many similarities, the response to growing numbers of well-documented miscarriages of justice in the US has been very different to that in the UK. The reasons for this will be considered. We will examine:
• concerns about police competence in criminal investigations • the over-reliance on confession evidence in adversarial systems of
justice
• UK legislation regulating custodial questioning • factors contributing to miscarriages of justice in the USA • USA/UK responses to miscarriages of justice • opportunities for greater involvement of forensic psychologists in the
future in ways that can minimise miscarriages of justice.
