Solving crimes typically relies in part on eyewitness testimony. Professor of Legal Psychology Annelies Vredeveldt argues in her inaugural lecture that culture plays a major role in this. Culture influences every step in the eyewitness trajectory: witnessing a crime, being interviewed by the police, and testifying in court. Earlier research by Vredeveldt shows that memory, storytelling and emotional expression differ across cultures, with real consequences for criminal justice practice.
At the same time, “culture” is hard to define: each person holds multiple, intersecting identities. Rather than striving for “cultural competence,” which risks stereotyping, Vredeveldt advocates “cultural humility”: recognising one’s own biases, committing to lifelong learning, and engaging openly with others.
Training programs for investigators show that this approach is promising. In future research, Vredeveldt plans to focus on cultural bias among police, expert witnesses and judges. The ultimate goal is a fairer justice system in which humility helps bridge cultural divides.