Electronic Facial Identification Technique (E-FIT, e-fit, efit) is a computer-based method of producing

facial composite A facial composite is a graphical representation of one or more eyewitnesses' memories of a face, as recorded by a composite artist. Facial composites are used mainly by police in their investigation of (usually serious) crimes. These images a ...

s of wanted criminals, based on eyewitness descriptions.

Uses

The system first appeared in the late 1980s, programmed by John Platten and has since been progressively refined by Platten and latterly by Dr Matthew Maylin. E-FIT has developed a reputation as a highly reliable and flexible system for feature-based composite construction. Customers for this system exist in over 30 countries around the world. These include the Metropolitan Police Service, the

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

(ATF), the

New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

, the Stockholm Police, the

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and the

Jamaica Constabulary Force The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the official police force of Jamaica. Role The force is the arm of the Ministry which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime, the investigation of all ...

. E-FIT is used both for minor and serious crimes. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, it is an ever-present feature on the

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's ''

Crimewatch ''Crimewatch'' (formerly ''Crimewatch UK'') is a British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes in order to gain information from the public which may assist in solving the case. The programme was o ...

'' television programme. The system is available in

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English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

(both US and UK), French, Italian, Portuguese and Swedish. The widespread use of the original E-FIT approach is gradually being superseded by a new version of the program called EFIT-V. EFIT-V is a full-colour, hybrid system that offers increased flexibility and speed, allowing the face to be constructed using both evolutionary and systematic construction techniques.

Efficacy

The E-FIT, Pro-fit, and similar systems used in the UK have been subjected to a number of formal academic examinations. In these studies, volunteers were able to identify the person in the composite about 20% of the time if the composite was prepared immediately after viewing the subject. However, one study found that if witnesses were required to wait two days before constructing a composite, which matches real-life applications more closely, success rates fell to between 3 and 8 per cent.

References

{{Reflist

External links

VisionMetric Ltd
Face recognition Law enforcement techniques Identity documents