Gary Wells has received nationwide recognition for his studies on the way memory affects eyewitness identification.

Wells has been studying police lineups for 30 years — more than anyone in his field, and his studies have proven that the standard ways of eyewitness identification lineups are often ineffective.

“It’s not just that [eyewitnesses] would make a mistake in identification, but it was not uncommon for them to do so with a lot of confidence,” Wells said.

Wells received the first grant for his studies in 1991 from the National Science Foundation. He said the grant is supporting work that examines composites sketches, or computer-produced sketches. He said the research found that the sketches rarely produce a likeness to the actual criminal, and his group is studying ways to improve them.

Wells said an important improvement in lineups was discovering that witnesses tend to compare one suspect to another — instead of comparing each individual suspect to their memory. Now police departments are using a sequential procedure so the witness only sees one suspect at a time.

Police departments in New Jersey, North Carolina, Boston and Minneapolis have implemented the new procedure, Wells said.

“I think Iowa police departments are sort of ready to change,” Wells said. “It’s amazing how slow it can be to change things within the legal system.”

Clinton County Attorney Mike Wolf said Wells served as an expert witness in the homicide case of State of Iowa v. Robert Jackson. Wells provided testimony to aid the jury in understanding the various psychological and memory aspects of eyewitness identification.

“I think the change is coming,” Wolf said. “Dr. Wells has established certain procedures for law enforcement agencies to comply with to best preserve fair and trustworthy eyewitness identification.”

Wells said there are still many people who have not recognized the reliability problems that exist in current lineups.

Three-fourths of prisoners who have been proven innocent by DNA tests were wrongly convicted by eyewitness lineups, he said.

Wells said he hopes social sciences become more of an important part of criminal investigation. In the past, criminal departments have only thought of psychologists as therapists, Wells said.

Wells will present his findings in the 2005 ISU Presidential University Lecture at 8 p.m. Monday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.