§ Mr. Tony Banksasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has of the practice by the Metropolitan police of using London railway stations for the purpose of conducting identification parades; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe procedures for formal identification parades held in the Metropolitan police district and in other police forces are governed by the rules laid down in the Home Office circular 89/1978, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. Formal identification parades take place in police stations or, exceptionally, in a prison.
The administrative guidance which accompanies the rules contemplates the situation where a witness may be allowed the opportunity of seeing a suspect in a group of people to test the witness's ability to identify the person whom he said he saw on a previous occasion. It is the practice of the Metropolitan police and other police forces to adopt this procedure when it is not practicable to arrange an identification parade, for example, because the suspect refuses or there are insufficient people of similar appearance willing to take part in a formal identification parade. Identification of this sort may take place in a railway station or other similar place where large numbers of members of the public can be expected to be present. The courts have accepted this procedure, which is clearly to be preferred to direct confrontation by a witness. The arrangements for this procedure are governed by the Commissioner's general orders which require that the rules governing identification parades should be followed so far as is practicable; they also stress the need to establish identification in the fairest possible way. The published draft code of practice for identification to be made under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 covers this procedure.