A Police Lineup Is Called an Identity Parade in Britain
A lineup is a row of people or a list of participants. Britain and America name the police procedure differently.
A lineup is a row of people or a list of scheduled participants. The police sense splits by country: Americans say lineup, Britons say *identity parade* or *ID parade*. Research has repeatedly found the procedure error-prone, and reforms now favour sequential presentation and administrators who do not know the suspect.
- A row of people for identification. *A police lineup.*
- A list of participants. *The festival lineup.*
- A team selection. *Tonight's lineup.*
- Line up — to form a row. *Line up outside.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | lineup | A strong lineup. |
| Plural | lineups | Changing lineups. |
| Phrasal verb | line up | Line up here. |
| British | identity parade | An identity parade. |
| Related | queue | Join the queue. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The festival lineup was announced.Performers.
- Britain calls it an identity parade.Police procedure.
- Line up in twos.Verb: two words.
Identification research findings
- Sequential presentation — showing faces one at a time reduces false identification
- Double-blind — the officer running it should not know who the suspect is
- Fillers — the others must match the witness's description
- Confidence — a witness's certainty is a poor guide to accuracy
- Misidentification — a leading cause of wrongful conviction
From the phrasal verb *line up*, from *line*, from Latin *linea*, a linen thread used as a guide.
Lineup or identity parade?
Lineup is American, identity parade British. Britain now normally uses video identification rather than live parades.
Why is eyewitness identification unreliable?
Memory is reconstructive, and the procedure itself can shape what a witness reports. Research has driven substantial reform.