2026-10-07T22:44:50Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34033443 2026-09-30T15:27:53Z category_27481 item_type_12 month_year_09_2026

Temporal Integrity of Eyewitness Evidence: Memory Contamination, Investigative Sequencing, and the Preservation of Testimonial Information Sergio Pommier Gallo, PhD. (23385466) Criminology not elsewhere classified eyewitness evidence memory contamination Investigative Interviewing criminal procedure eyewitness identifications <p dir="ltr">Eyewitness evidence is commonly treated as a form of testimonial information whose reliability can be assessed primarily through the content and consistency of a witness's account. That approach can overlook a fundamental characteristic of memory evidence: the evidentiary content of a witness statement may change as a consequence of the investigative process itself. Interviews, identification procedures, conversations with other witnesses, exposure to case information, repeated questioning, and subsequent feedback can alter later recollections or confidence. The resulting problem is not adequately described as simple witness unreliability. It is a problem of temporal integrity. This article develops a temporal framework for understanding eyewitness evidence in criminal investigations. It argues that the evidentiary value of a witness account depends not only upon what the witness ultimately reports, but also upon when particular information was first reported, what information was available to the witness at that moment, what investigative interventions subsequently occurred, and whether later statements can be distinguished from earlier uncontaminated recollection. Drawing upon cognitive psychology, investigative interviewing research, forensic evidence scholarship, and criminal-procedure principles, the article distinguishes four stages of testimonial information: initial recollection, investigative interaction, subsequent reconstruction, and formalized testimonial presentation. It proposes that investigators and courts should treat the chronology of witness information as an evidentiary variable rather than merely as administrative history. The article does not propose that every later change in testimony demonstrates contamination or unreliability. Nor does it suggest that an initial account is invariably accurate. Rather, it proposes a procedural principle of temporal preservation: the earliest reasonably obtainable account should be documented with sufficient detail to permit later reconstruction of what the witness knew before subsequent investigative influences occurred. This principle can complement established safeguards for investigative interviewing and eyewitness identification while providing a more precise framework for evaluating changing testimony.</p> 2026-09-30T15:27:53Z Text Preprint 10.6084/m9.figshare.34033443.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/preprint/Temporal_Integrity_of_Eyewitness_Evidence_Memory_Contamination_Investigative_Sequencing_and_the_Preservation_of_Testimonial_Information/34033443 CC BY 4.0