The cognitive science of eyewitness memory
Memory can be contaminated, exactly as other types of forensic evidence can be.
For that reason, eyewitness memory has long been thought to be unreliable.
However, the initial test of memory conducted early in a police investigation, which minimizes contamination, is more reliable than was previously believed.
On that all-important first test, eyewitnesses often provide reliable evidence that the police suspect is innocent.
https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(25)00027-0
