Psychological aspects of the procedure of the submission for identification

Among all the tools for obtaining evidence to establish the circumstances to be proved in a criminal case, the submission for identification and the interrogation preceding it are among the most common and effective investigative actions in their potential. However, the submission for identification is also characterized by its “one-time” conduct; it cannot be carried out additionally or repeatedly, such as an interrogation or an investigative examination. This determines a special significance in its organization and conduct, where it is essential for the person carrying out the preliminary investigation not only to take into account all possible nuances of procedural and “technical” nature in its preparation but also to understand those features of psychological processes that take place in the mind of the identifier in order to correctly analyze the course, content, and results of the above-mentioned investigative action. The result of the submission for identification depends on the person’s ability to perceive the events of interest to the investigation, capture their mental image in combination with identifying individually defined details in his memory, and then be able to identify this image with the objects presented to him and conclude that there is or is not an identity between them and the mental image previously imprinted in his memory. At the same time, the psychology of this investigative action is in a certain dependence on the individual characteristics of persons’ identities: the physical “quality” of their organs of perception, activities, interests, and psychological state. This, in turn, affects the “quality” of perception, memorization, and effectiveness of the investigative action, which can be improved if the subject of the investigation uses appropriate tactical techniques. And the choice of the latter largely depends on the understanding of the persons making the investigation and the specifics of the psychological processes taking place in the mind of the eyewitnesses, which ultimately form their testimony about the object or event of interest. In this regard, the purpose of the paper is to consider some features of the psyche of the identifiers, which have a significant impact on the formation of their testimony, their quality.