You can improve your situational awareness by meditating and practicing mindfulness. Pay attention to your surroundings and notice how they make you feel. If you’re in the middle of a dangerous situation, get to somewhere safe first. Your safety is more important than trying to witness all the details. Take a moment to get a good look at the people around you since remembering them can help you recall a suspect better. [2] X Research source Avoid looking for details you’d “expect” during an incident, such as a white van or a weapon in someone’s hand, since it could make you misremember what actually happened. Really pay attention to the events as they go on rather than assuming you know what to look for.
If you safely can get a good look at the person, focus on their whole face rather than single features. That way, you’ll be able to recall their appearance better. Try to think of someone with a similar appearance to the person that you can compare them to so you’re able to job your memory better. While it’s still helpful to know the suspect’s hairstyle, hair color, and clothes, someone could easily change them and make your eyewitness testimony less accurate.
If you’re on the scene, pull out your phone and record video or take pictures of events as they happen if you’re safely able to Your memory will start to change and get influenced by other events the longer you wait to record what happened. Studies have shown if you immediately recall the events, you’ll be able to remember the events more clearly later on. [6] X Research source
If you’re asked about a detail you can’t remember during an eyewitness testimony, just be honest and say that you’re not sure about what happened. When you’re stressed and scared, it can make you misremember details of what actually happened. Be sure to really think and question what you experienced so you give accurate information. [8] X Trustworthy Source Association for Psychological Science Nonprofit organization devoted promoting trustworthy research and education in the psychological sciences Go to source
Take a break from the news and fill your time with other activities to fill your time. Be mindful of anyone asking leading questions that could influence your memory. For example, “Was the car red?” is a leading question but “What color was the car?” is not.
When you’re testifying, only give information that you personally observed or know about. Don’t come to any conclusions about the event; just state the facts instead.
