RCW 10.56.020 Work group—Eyewitness evidence. (Expires December 31, 2022.)

(1) The Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs shall administer a work group for the purpose of maximizing the reliability of eyewitness evidence collected during criminal investigations.

(2) The president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives shall jointly appoint the members of the work group to include the following:

(a) One member representing the senate;

(b) One member representing the house of representatives;

(c) The chief of the Washington state patrol or the chief's designee;

(d) One member representing the criminal justice training commission with expertise in developing law enforcement training curricula;

(e) The executive director of the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs or the executive director's designee;

(f) Two members representing the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys, each from a diverse geographical location;

(g) One member representing the Washington defender association;

(h) One member representing the Washington association of criminal defense lawyers;

(i) One member representing the Washington innocence project; and

(j) One member from the scientific community with expertise in eyewitness memory.

(3) The duties of the work group include, but are not limited to:

(a) Developing model guidelines for the collection of eyewitness evidence consistent with the model policies adopted in 2015 by the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs and the Washington association of prosecuting attorneys. The model guidelines must also: Be based on credible field, academic, or laboratory research on eyewitness memory; be designed to reduce erroneous eyewitness identifications and enhance the reliability and objectivity of eyewitness identifications; and include standards for blind administration of the identification procedure, filler selection, instructions to the witness, and documenting a statement of witness confidence immediately following any positive identification;

(b) Designing law enforcement training for the collection and documentation of eyewitness evidence based on the model guidelines developed pursuant to this subsection; and

(c) In consultation with the University of Washington Tacoma and the criminal justice training commission, designing a pilot project for implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of the training curriculum developed pursuant to this subsection.

(4) The work group shall hold its initial meeting no later than July 31, 2019, and complete the model guidelines, training curriculum, and proposal for the pilot project no later than November 30, 2019.

(5) The work group shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the legislature a report, including a summary of its activities, the model guidelines, training curriculum, proposal for the pilot project, and other related recommendations by November 30, 2019.

(6) The work group shall function within existing resources.

(7) This section expires December 31, 2022.

[ 2019 c 359 § 2.]