I did some strange jobs during my time in the Royal Air Force, and few were stranger than when the call came out from the local police for help. This usually concerned recruiting ‘bodies’ to appear in an identity line up.
Much has been said about the practices of detectives during the 1970s in the UK – Life on Mars fans will know what I mean – so maybe these activities can offer a personal insight.
I was based just outside London at the time.
When a line-up was required at the local police station, the call would come in, and a rough description of the suspect given so that those chosen would in some way reflect what he looked like.
I remember once getting the instruction, small and scruffy. So it was obvious I’d be in the line. However, scruffy, in the RAF, meant ‘casual’, and if we were scruffy haired or unshaven, we’d be in trouble.
So, many casually dressed airmen stood to attention next to …
… well, scruffy wasn’t in it. He seemed to come from a different planet to us, and I remember thinking, even if he was innocent, he’d be picked when compared to the rest of us.
Would this system lead to possible miscarriages of justice? Quite possibly. And the fact that witnesses were in the same room as the line-up in those days, tapping the chosen person on the shoulder, didn’t help.
But our good detectives were always appreciative. ‘Right, come on fellas,’ they’d say after the job. And off we’d go to the pub (bar) next door, whether open or not, safe in the knowledge they’d make sure we’d never remember leaving.
© Anthony North, November 2007
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