What are the different types of Forensic Art?

The International Association for Identification (IAI) Forensic Art discipline has defined forensic art into four general categories, so there is no reason for me to reinvent the wheel here. This is the link if you want to check the source:   http://theiai.org/disciplines/art/history.php The categories are…

• Composites
• Image Modification and Image Identification
• Demonstrative Evidence
• Reconstruction and Postmortem Identification Aids

The following are just basic explanations of each. I will certainly cover them in more depth in other posts, but this will give you an idea for now.

Composite Imagery is probably the one that most people are familiar with. These are the drawings that you see in the newspaper, usually much too small to be seen clearly….like,  ”composite sketch released in search of robbery suspect.” In short, a witness or victim of a crime will meet with a forensic artist, and based on their recollection of the suspect, produce an image of the individual. The reason they are called “composites” is because the image is assembled together from the parts of other multiple reference images (“he had eyes like this guy, a  nose like that guy….”) into one cohesive, composite of a suspect. Occasionally you will hear someone describe the process as being  ”just like Mr. Potato Head!” which was probably humorous the first 500 times it was uttered, and is also, by the way, one of the quickest ways to irritate a forensic artist.

These can be done as a “composite sketch” (the artist draws this by hand, with good ol’ pencil and paper…and talent) or “composite image” (assembled with a computer application). Generally the computer-based systems were created to serve agencies that did not have a forensic artist and therefore “no artistic skill is needed to create the image,”…. which can have mixed results. But to be fair, not all of us artists hit the drawing out of the park every time either, so there you go.

Image Modification and Image Identification covers a lot of ground. These can include fugitive age progressions (“he’s been gone for 15 years, so make him look like he’s 40 years old, and add a beard”) age progressions of missing children or adults, or photo comparisons. These can be done as photo retouches, if you have a good original image, or as a drawing if the original stinks on ice.  Most  of the time, they stink.

I know that Demonstrative Evidence isn’t considered as interesting to some artists, but actually, it can be really challenging to your artistic and communication skills. These are the trial exhibits that you might see on Court TV, or some of those CSI-y shows. They can be 2D charts, multimedia presentations, and even 3D models. Doing this work draws on a whole different set of skills: you need to be able to take information, and present it graphically so it is easily understood by the jury. Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words, and the best case in the world can be sunk if the jury doesn’t understand it. That’s where demonstrative evidence can come in and (help) save the day.

Lastly, is Reconstruction and Postmortem Identification Aids. These are the drawings, photo images, and sculptures you see done from an unidentified skull or morgue photo. When fingerprints and DNA don’t come up with a match, and all leads are exhausted, a facial reconstruction (“recon” for short in the forensic artist’s language) may be done to approximate what the person may have looked like in life. When that image is released, the hope is that someone that knew that person will recognize them, and call the investigating agency.

This category of forensic art also includes “post-mortems”: retouched images of morgue photos, to make them more suitable for public release. As you can imagine, these images can be very disturbing when unretouched, and can even prevent identification because the family just can’t relate to seeing their loved one that way. Deceased people generally do not look like they are sleeping.  A retouched image can bridge that gap. Sometimes when the quality of a morgue photo isn’t very good, (it’s really pixel-y, or taken at a horrible angle) a drawing will be done instead. All of these have impressive success rates, and frankly, when a person has been unidentified for a while, and there’s nothing else to go on, you really have nothing to lose. As long as the recon or post-mortem is done by a qualified forensic artist, following protocols and good practices, with the appropriate peer review, of course.

Well, I now that was one long post, but I figured there was no sense in starting this blog effort if I didn’t at least start with the basics.