Author Dr. Everett Doolittle
Following up on this piece from The Police Chief here is another insightful article, also written from the law enforcement perspective, about the dangers of tunnel vision. With articles on the subject in the same month in two major law enforcement publications, perhaps it is a sign that an important cultural change is starting to occur in the law enforcement community. Here is an excerpt from the piece (full article here) appearing in FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, and written by former officer (now professor) Dr. Everett Doolittle:
I have had great opportunities over my many years in law enforcement. I have served as a police officer, a deputy sheriff, and even the chief deputy, but I found my greatest career opportunity at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA). At BCA, I tackled my most challenging assignment when I led the Cold Case Unit (CCU).
Early in my career, I gained valuable experience by working on homicide teams. But, studying the errors of others and reworking an old case granted me even greater insight into why cases fail. This article describes one of the major sources of these investigative errors: a phenomenon I dubbed the “Disease of Certainty.”
The Disease of Certainty is fatal to investigations. Both inexperienced and seasoned officers can catch this contagious disease, and it can spread throughout a team. It occurs when officers feel so convinced of their own beliefs that they allow themselves to become tunnel-visioned about one conclusion and ignore clues that might point them in another direction. Those who resist the disease may be ridiculed and ostracized for their supposed lack of understanding and inability to see the truth if all of their coworkers share the same beliefs and assumptions about the investigation.
Wrongful Convictions Blog 
My wife and I mistook a restaurant patron for her sister’s husband. This was in a well illuminated room in a no stress environment as we observed him within 20 feet. I have known him for nearly fifty years.
It is easy to visualize one at night, in a high stress situation, from several yards away, mistakenly Identifying a stranger — and much later at trial or re-trial, insisting that the original ID was accurate ‼
Jennifer Thompson-Cannino is a classic example and she was inches away from her predator.
IF all ♀ were well trained in life or death survival defense moves and able to maim, paralyze or kill an attacking ♂, I speculate that the predator ♂s would hesitate to attack most of the time.
I do not recall published accounts of a ♂ raping or attempting to rape a 300 pound mama Kodiak bear as she is monitoring the lunch activity of her cubs.
OFF TOPIC, but thanks again to you, the OIP and its work towards the September 17, 2009 appearance of Ms. Thompson-Cannino and Mr. Cotton at a CLE on Cincinnati.
I still have pictures of the two on my mobile phone☺
In psychology, this is called CONFIRMATION BIAS.
I doubt we’ll ever see any data on it, but I would speculate that this is right near the top of reasons for wrongful conviction.
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