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…
DetailsSketchCop 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…
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Each 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.
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SketchCop Solutions is pleased to announce the launch of SketchCop REMOTE. Our new online service connects law enforcement with a skilled, qualified forensic artist. Agencies without access to a forensic artist can now request an appointment with only the click of a mouse.
SketchCop Solutions continues into 2015 as Law Enforcement’s Source for Facial Imaging and Identification. We do this by offering cost-effective solutions for law enforcement agencies – large or small. We offer case consulting services, remote composite interviews, facial composite software, training and much more.
Consult our website at: www.SketchCop.com to learn more.
Here are some of our upcoming highlights.
DetailsSketchCop Solutions invites all civilian and military law enforcement agencies, intelligence groups, private investigators, corporate security firms, academic forensic science programs and other select organizations to try SketchCop FACETTE, our industry-leading facial composite software. SketchCop FACETTE creates ‘killer images’ that close cases and bring criminals to justice. Facial composites have proven themselves to be an effective law…
DetailsSketchCop Solutions is pleased to announce our upcoming, 2-day, hands-on training course – Creating Digital Composite Images for Law Enforcement, scheduled for October 23 & 24, 2014 in Baltimore, Maryland. Attendees will learn how to develop interview strategies, testify in court as an expert witness, create high-quality facial composites using SketchCop FACETTE software and much,…
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On March 3, 2014, NBC news reporter Erik Ortiz published an online news article titled: ‘Dying Art?’: Forensic Artists Face a Digital Future. The article highlights the struggle between traditional forensic artists and software programs that create composite images. This subject is one that law enforcement has long struggled with. That’s because for years, a shortage of trained forensic artists forced them to use software programs that left them unsatisfied. But, in the absence of a well-trained forensic artist, it was all they had.
Today that’s changed.
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Constable Jake Friesen is a Forensic Identification Officer with the Peterborough – Lakefield Community Police in Ontario, Canada. When he is not collecting evidence at crime scenes, Jake serves as the department’s Forensic Artist. Jake is a successful and talented artist who spearheaded the department’s purchase of SketchCop FACETTE Face Design System Software.
DetailsOccasionally, a debate erupts among Forensic Artists about whether or not to use photo references during a composite interview. While there are many good points to be made on either side of the argument, my position has always been to use the method that works best for your eyewitness.
A majority of Forensic Artists have been trained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Years ago the F.B.I. adopted a method for cataloging facial features pioneered by French criminologist Alfonse Bertillion. This led to them to develop an interview method that combines the cognitive interview with the use of photo references. They published the F.B.I Facial Identification Catalog as a resource tool that’s supplied to students who attend their Facial Composite Course. Others who teach their own courses have borrowed the F.B.I.’s method for creating facial composites, making it a standard practice among Forensic Artists.
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