Witness memory accessibility decline and false memories: Research on witness memory

Transience is defined by the American Psychological Association3 as: the decreasing accessibility of memory over time. This applies to witnesses of crimes and the memories of those crimes fading as time passes. The Canadian Justice System and court proceedings at times can be very lengthy. According to the Canadian Department of Justice1 the median amount of time to complete an adult criminal court case is 117 days. Months or even years can pass between the time of the incident and/or arrest and a witness testimony in trial. The excruciatingly important details of these crimes given by witnesses can be influenced or lost entirely. This may not necessarily be due to the compartmentalization of the memories but may be due to the accessibility of the memory and being able to recall it. There have been few studies on witness memory and accuracy5,7, but witness testimony is beginning to be depended upon less and less in courtrooms. The goal of this study is to establish empirical data as evidence in order to reduce the dependence on eyewitness testimony