Do people still get paid for police identity parades?

Bournemouth, England
July 24, 2017 4:58pm CST
At one time my local newspaper used to print appeals, seemingly on a weekly basis, for people (nearly always men) to take part in identity parades. There would be a description of the type of guy they were looking for (a bit like a weird dating profile. Sadly I never saw one which said 'Must be wearing mask and stripey shirt and carry bag marked "Swag"'). Then they would give the date, time and location of the ID parade, followed by the good bit: the offer of a £10 fee for a few minutes' 'work' at your local cop shop. I believe the parade would have about a dozen participants: the suspect, the paid volunteers and a few police officers in plain clothes. I often wondered what happened if a volunteer got picked out and couldn't provide an alibi but I guess the police would ignore it as they already had someone in the frame. Seeing such a parade on a repeat of the brilliant 'Foyle's War' made me realise that I haven't seen one of these appeals for years, which is a pity because the main local nick is a short bus ride away and it would be an interesting and profitable experience. And I'd probably qualify for lots of them because I seem to have 'one of those faces'. I suspect it's all to do with cutbacks. Maybe the parades now consist entirely of the suspect and police staff to save money. But that won't be possible every time. One appeal I saw said they needed men weighing 25 stone or more. I couldn't help laughing when they added 'Transport will be provided'. I wondered what crime had been committed! Do they still pay for ID parades where you live? Have you ever been part of one? What's the most unusual one-off job you've ever done for a bit of extra cash?
7 people like this
6 responses
• United States
24 Jul 17
The only thing is what if the victim pick you by mistake? Or?
2 people like this
• Bournemouth, England
24 Jul 17
Better have a good alibi and no previous convictions!
2 people like this
• United States
24 Jul 17
@asfarasiknow Indeed for sure..but yes it would be handy for the cash aye? I was laughing about the 25 stone guy..yep would have needed provided transport a crane or summit lol
2 people like this
• Bournemouth, England
24 Jul 17
@TiarasOceanView Maybe he robbed a cake shop.
@sprite1950 (30452)
• Corsham, England
30 Apr 18
I really don't know! I would hate to take part in one just in case I was wrongly identified and the police believed the witness!
1 person likes this
@sprite1950 (30452)
• Corsham, England
1 May 18
@asfarasiknow Yes I suppose they would make sure you had a genuine alibi before you were asked to take part.
1 person likes this
• Bournemouth, England
30 Apr 18
You'd have an alibi: 'I was at home online'.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
25 Jul 17
It does not exist in France, except in movies. The police just shows to the victim several pictures with a picture of the suspect in the lot. I do not think they pay people to take their photo.
1 person likes this
@topffer (42156)
• France
25 Jul 17
@asfarasiknow It already happened, as some people have been recognized by their victims on the photos posted on their Facebook account.
1 person likes this
• Bournemouth, England
25 Jul 17
One day soon police suspects will use their own selfies as mugshots.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
25 Jul 17
I'd be afraid some witness would pick me out of the line up, - never heard if they pay for it before or not
1 person likes this
• Bournemouth, England
26 Jul 17
You'd be fine - you're always somewhere doing something, usually at a public event, so no problem with an alibi!
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
26 Jul 17
@asfarasiknow hopefully that would be the case for the day of the offence I'm in the line up for yes
1 person likes this
@Poppylicious (11133)
26 Jul 17
I would assume that digital technology means they've got oodles of files full of photos which they can just pull up by putting search terms in. I do remember a time when people were sometimes approached in the street to do this, presumably because they had the required 'look'. But that's going back to the early nineties, when I was but a teenager. :)
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
25 Jul 17
I've never even heard of this. Interesting. Here we just have police lineups, as far as I know.
1 person likes this
• Bournemouth, England
26 Jul 17
I imagine that modern methods of detection like DNA and CCTV have decreased the demand for lineups.
1 person likes this
@teamfreak16 (43418)
• Denver, Colorado
26 Jul 17
@asfarasiknow - That does make sense.