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 are used to reconstruct the suspect's face in hope of identifying them. Facial reconstruction can also be used in archeological studies to get a visualization of ancient mummies or human remains.

Methods

Hand-drawing

Construction of the composite was originally only performed by a trained artist, through drawing, sketching, or painting, in consultation with a witness or crime victim. The

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

claims that hand-drawing is its preferred method for constructing a facial composite.

Feature-based selection

Feature-based systems essentially rely on the selection of individual features in isolation. Individual facial features (eyes, nose, mouth, eyebrows, etc.) are selected one at a time from a large database and then electronically 'overlaid' to make the composite image. This allows images to be created when suitable artistic talent is not available. Such systems were originally mechanical, using drawings or photographs printed on transparent

acetate An acetate is a salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. alkaline, earthy, metallic, nonmetallic, or radical base). "Acetate" also describes the conjugate base or ion (specifically, the negatively charged ion called ...

sheets that could be superimposed on one another to produce the composite image. The first such system was the drawing-based "Identikit" which was introduced in the U.S. in 1959. A photograph-based system, "Photofit", was introduced in the UK in 1970 by Jacques Penry. Modern systems are software-based; common systems include SketchCop FACETTE Face Design System Software, Identi-Kit 2000, FACES,

E-FIT Electronic Facial Identification Technique (E-FIT, e-fit, efit) is a computer-based method of producing facial composites of wanted criminal(s), based on eyewitness descriptions. Uses The system first appeared in the late 1980s, programmed by J ...

and PortraitPad. File:Caesius facial composite.jpg, A facial composite produced by

FACES The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

software File:PortraitPad.jpg, A facial composite produced by PortraitPad software

Evolutionary systems

Evolutionary systems may be broadly described as holistic or global in that they primarily attempt to create a likeness to the suspect through an evolutionary mechanism in which a witness's response to groups of complete faces (not just features) converges towards an increasingly accurate image. Introduced in the 2000s, such systems are finding increasing use by police forces. Several of these systems originate in academia: EFIT-V (

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

), EvoFIT (

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

University of Central Lancashire The University of Lancashire (previously abbreviated UCLan) is a public university based in the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. It has its roots in ''The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge'', founded in 1828. Previously k ...

, and

University of Winchester The University of Winchester is a public research university based in the city of Winchester, Hampshire, England. The university has origins tracing back to 1840 as a teacher training college, but was established in 2005. Winchester University ...

), and ID (

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

). A 2012 police field trial indicated that an EvoFIT directly led to the arrest of a suspect and then a conviction in 29% of cases.

Usage

While the classic use of the facial composite is the citizen recognizing the face as an acquaintance, there are other ways where a facial composite can prove useful. The facial composite can contribute in law enforcement in a number of ways: # Identifying the suspect in a

wanted poster A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

. # Additional evidence against a suspect. # Assisting investigation in checking leads. # Warning vulnerable population against serial offenders. Facial composites of various types have been used extensively in television programs which aim to reconstruct major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public, such as ''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

'' in the US and ''

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 or ...

'' in the UK.

Notable cases

These notable cases had facial composites assist in identifying the perpetrator: *

Timothy McVeigh Timothy James McVeigh (April 23, 1968 – June 11, 2001) was an American domestic terrorist who masterminded and perpetrated the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. The bombing itself killed 167 people (including 19 children), injured ...

* Niklas Lindgren * Derrick Todd Lee *

Rodney Alcala Rodney James Alcala (born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala; August 23, 1943 – July 24, 2021), also known as John Berger and John Burger, was an American serial killer and convicted sex offender who was Capital punishment in California, sentenced to death ...

Joseph James DeAngelo Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. (born November 8, 1945) is an American serial killer known as the Golden State Killer, the Original Night Stalker, and the East Area Rapist, who committed at least 13 murders and numerous rapes and burglaries ...

* Reinaldo Rivera * Christine Paolilla * Timothy Hennis * Daniel Lee Corwin

References

{{reflist, 30em Crime Criminal law Law enforcement techniques Identity documents