Bringing the Jury to the Scene of the Crime: Memory and Decision-Making in a Simulated Crime Scene
Carolin Reichherzer, Andrew Cunningham, Tracey Coleman, Ruochen Cao, Kurt McManus, Dion Sheppard, Mark Kohler, Mark Billinghurst, Bruce H. Thomas
Abstract
This paper investigates the use of immersive virtual reconstructions as an aid for jurors during a courtroom trial. The findings of a between-participant user study on memory and decision-making are presented in the context of viewing a simulated hit-run-death scenario. Participants listened to the opening statement of a prosecutor and a defence attorney before viewing the crime scene in Virtual Reality (VR) or as still images. We compare the effects on cognition and usability of using VR over images presented on a screen. We found several significant improvements, including that VR led to more consistent decision-making among participants. This shows that VR could provide a promising solution for the court to present crime scenes when site visitations are not possible.