SketchCop®

Digital Solutions for Facial Imaging & Identification

Michael W. Streed

Welcome Back!

by

Welcome back to our blog! The staff at SketchCop Solutions has been working hard on developing new products and training to help law enforcement make the move from pencils to pixels. Our new tagline – The Digital Difference in Facial Imaging and Identification reflects our commitment to further influence the direction of the forensic facial imaging market. Our core facial composite software products, Frontalis® Facial Composite System and SketchCop® FACETTE Face Design System, remain popular with both law enforcement and the academic community.

SketchCop Solutions supports these products through a variety of training options driven by our textbook – Creating Digital Faces for Law Enforcement, released in March 2017 by our publishing partner, Elsevier/Academic Press.

And despite our successes, there is still much more work to be done. Please check back often as we will make periodic announcements about new product releases and upcoming training on our blog.

And, because our website is also the home of Michael W. Streed – The SketchCop©, there will be periodic posts regarding true crime and Michael’s book releases and media appearances.  Here at SketchCop.com, there’s little of something for everybody – those on the front line fighting crime and those who like to read about it, or watch it on television.

In the meantime, stay safe and take care of one another!

Where do we go from here?

by

silo

When I began my career as a police sketch artist, there was only a handful of people doing the job.  Even then, few were full-time.  Most of us were beat cops or detectives.   We enjoyed being cops, but we also enjoyed using our drawing skills to help catch more bad guys.

Armed with nothing more than a pencil, pad of paper and an eraser, we went to work.  At the time, that is all we had.  It was low-tech, but it worked out pretty well.  As a result of our efforts, many dangerous criminals were identified and sent to jail.

Fast forward to today and forensic artists have an array of software tools at their fingertips.  The traditional pencil, paper and eraser combination has been supplemented by electronic tablets, input devices and art-centric software.  This has not only made our jobs faster and easier, but it also opened up other opportunities to enhance our skills.

I was an easy convert.  For years I have been working with Adobe® Photoshop® digital imaging software and using Wacom Technologies’ pen/tablet as my favored input device.  (My first tablet was a small Wacom Graphire.)

As technology continues to advance, so does the field of forensic art.  With software like our SketchCop® FACETTE Face Design System software, paired with Adobe® Photoshop®, Wacom Technologies and Corel, we are opening the field to non-artist who have the desire to create faces and help their communities.

Armed with the right tools and training, another category of identification specialist will soon be added to the mix – the Facial Identification Technician.  Having trained technicians at the ready will ensure that law enforcement has the right tools to identify more criminals.

SketchCop Solutions continues to lead the field of forensic facial imaging by providing relevant training and solutions for law enforcement and academics.  Please check back with us as we continue to look at some of these new tools and announce upcoming training opportunities.

 

Troy, MI Police Department is now using SketchCop FACETTE to fight crime!

by

TroyPDSketchCop Solutions is pleased to add Troy, MI Police Department to our list of valued law enforcement clients.  Like many police agencies, they were frustrated by the lack of quality facial composite software programs.  They wanted a program that was versatile, easy to use and had a training component that supported the software.

Troy Police Department took the extraordinary step of inviting The SketchCop himself to their department to provide specialized training.  The training included interviewing techniques, courtroom testimony, software basics, how to use Adobe Photoshop, practical exercises and much, much more.

The Troy Police Department hosted the 2-day training course in their state-of-the-art training facility and were wonderful hosts.  SketchCop Solutions hopes that integrating SketchCop FACETTE into their arsenal of forensic evaluation tools will help them catch more crooks.

To see how you can get your own copy of SketchCop FACETTE and onsite/online training, be sure to contact us today!

 

Ormond Beach Couple Survive Home Invasion Attack

by

Ormond Beach

Crime Date: December 27, 2015

Crime: Home Invasion/Attempted Murder

Agency: Ormond Beach, FL Police Department

Ormond Beach Police officers responded to a report of a stabbing that occurred during a residential burglary.

Police said a couple were asleep inside their home when the female resident was awakened by noise inside the home.  When she went to check, she was attacked by the suspect and stabbed approximately seven times.  Her husband was also attacked and suffered seven stab wounds. While the motive for the attack was unclear, both survived and were able to provide police with a description of their assailant.

Two days after the attack, Ormond Police requested the aid of Port Orange Police detectives.  They responded to the hospital where they worked with the victims to produce a composite sketch of the suspect using SketchCop FACETTE.

Once the composite image was released to the public, police received several telephone tips, including one from a father who told police the sketch resembled his son, Michael Phillips, age 19.  Detectives assembled a photographic line-up and both victims selected Phillips, who was later arrested and charged in the case.

I was later contacted by the detective who created the sketch.  He commented, “without the assistance of your software, it is unclear if this case would have been solved.”

SketchCop Solutions is Turning Heads with ForensicaGPS

by

ForensicaGPSEach day, forensic artists work with victims and eyewitnesses to exploit an assailant’s most visible asset – their face.  Whether using traditional methods, or a computer software program, these dedicated artists provide facial composites to law enforcement with the hope they will lead to an identification.

Now, investigators have a new high-tech tool to add to their forensic facial imaging toolbox – facial recognition.  These powerful software programs rely on high-speed mathematical algorithms to quickly examine and sort through an innumerable amount of photographs hoping to match them to the target image.  A list of probable candidates is then forwarded to investigators for further follow up.

Surveillance photographs, still images and composite sketches are but just a few of the images that can be fed into these systems.  With the proliferation of cell phone cameras, private and governmental surveillance camera systems, as well as other image capture devices, law enforcement are relying on these images more than ever before. [Read more…] about SketchCop Solutions is Turning Heads with ForensicaGPS

Crime Spree Ends After Deputies Shoot, Kill, Murder Suspect

by

KCSO_Murder_Susp

Crime Date: July 28, 2015

Crime: Murder, Att. Murder of a Police Officer

Agency: Kern County, CA Sheriff’s Department

On July 28, 2015, three men were taken hostage after they confronted an armed suspect they believed to be living in a cabin illegally.  For the next several hours, he held the men hostage, threatening to kill them. It wasn’t until later they were able to escape and alert authorities. A short time later, they helped construct a composite sketch of the suspect that was widely distributed in the media.

Deputies immediately began conducting an area search for the suspect.  Two days later their search intensified when a retired dentist was found murdered inside another cabin 10 miles away.

On August 1, 2015, members of the Kern County Sheriff’s SWAT team were assisting deputies when they came under fire during a search inside a Kelso Valley mobile home. The armed confrontation led to two deputies receiving non-life threatening wounds and the suspect’s escape.

For the next two weeks, Kern County Sheriff’s deputies conducted the largest manhunt in the department’s history.  During the investigation, fingerprint and DNA evidence led to the identification of Benjamin Peter Ashley, 34, a homeless drifter with a lengthy arrest record, who was alleged to have access to numerous firearms.

It wasn’t until about two and a half weeks after their search began that deputies received a break in the case.

On Saturday, August 14, 2015, a citizen reported that Ashley was inside an Inyokern convenience market making a large purchase of junk food items. Deputies quickly responded to confront Ashley as he left the store.  During their contact with him, an officer-involved shooting occurred during which Ashley was killed.