Where we create and analyze the faces of those who harm others.
SketchCop® REMOTE is an online global service connecting investigators with (Ret.) Police Sergeant Michael W. Streed, Forensic Facial Imaging Expert/Consultant and founder of SketchCop® Solutions, Inc.
Michael is one of the world’s most experienced forensic facial imaging experts. During his distinguished career, he’s gained considerable experience and a reliable reputation for assisting law enforcement with their most difficult cases.
Now, Michael’s ready to go live with your eyewitness and create a compelling sketch that will help bring your case to a successful conclusion.
Michael uses ZOOM to connect with you 24/7. He conducts interviews in a virtual space and delivers high-quality facial composites that grab the public’s attention and generate leads.
Like our SketchCop® Facial Composite System Software, SketchCop® REMOTE helps significantly reduce investigative cycle times.
Interested law enforcement agencies may also request our Self-Guided Interview for Facial Composites. We strongly encourage investigators to use the guide to help eyewitnesses capture details of a suspect’s face soon after they commit a crime. Michael will use the information to create a more effective facial composite for their investigation.
SketchCop® REMOTE is unique because it allows eyewitnesses to participate from the comfort and safety of their home or office. Allowing investigators to focus more time and energy on their investigation.
With SketchCop® REMOTE, police sketch artist appointments that were once difficult to schedule are now available in ‘real time’ online. Investigators can often schedule same-day interviews and have their sketches delivered via e-mail upon completion.
If you’re interested in scheduling a facial composite interview, please review the system requirements before requesting your appointment.
Once completed, use the Contact form on the right to book your appointment. You can also download our Sketch Request form using the button below. Once completed, save it and send it to us.
SketchCop Solutions processes and analyzes video files for criminal justice and legal professionals using Axon Investigate and ProHawk Vision video analysis software.
We have received expert training and are recognized by AXON as Certified Forensic Video Operators and Forensic Video Examiners.
Having video evidence available for review during criminal investigations was once rare. Today, it’s more common and consistently relied upon.
Though forensic video doesn’t tell the whole story, it adds context and clarity for those charged with making decisions in the criminal justice system.
With the advancement of technology, video evidence is no longer just a record. Cameras, strategically placed in public areas and private businesses, are transforming into powerful storytellers. This evolution is a testament to the increasing value of video evidence in seeking justice and accountability.
Postmortem forensic facial imaging refers to approximating the appearance of an unidentified deceased person to how they might have appeared when alive. Two postmortem facial imaging techniques, facial approximation, commonly referred to as skull reconstruction, and facial photo restoration, are the most widely used.
Facial approximation becomes an even more powerful identification tool when supplemented with DNA phenotyping information.
Forensic Facial Imaging Expert Michael W. Streed and his team of experts blend traditional illustration techniques with the latest photo-editing, 3-D sculpting software and AI technology. (Geomagic Freeform Plus, Zbrush, Cinema4D, Adobe® Photoshop, Corel® Painter and Stable Diffusion).
Using information supplied by medical experts and scientists, we can approximate a person’s facial appearance in both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional formats as described above.
Michael recognizes that each agency has budgetary restrictions that limit its ability to use postmortem forensic facial imaging during investigations. If you have questions, Michael can help you choose your best option.
Please note that museums and historical societies may also use facial approximation and facial photo restoration techniques to depict the faces of historical figures and ancient people in planned exhibits.
If you want to learn more or hire us for your next project, please visit our Contact page.
Craniofacial superimposition is a helpful and accurate facial identification tool in the absence of comparison-quality dentition/X-rays or DNA profiles.
To compare, we use the skull face overlay module in Skeleton ID. Once the facial photograph(s) of the individual in question and the 3D skull are uploaded and aligned, the software performs an automatic skull and face overlay. Forensic experts only need to locate the cephalometric and craniometric points and select a soft tissue thickness study to make their AI-assisted comparison and analysis.
The availability of such a robust forensic facial identification tool is especially helpful in addressing the following:
- Involuntary missing persons
- Disaster Victim Identification
- Enforced disappearances
- Mass migration
- Armed conflict
- Education & Research
- Historical Memory
To increase objectivity, as part of the skull face overlay analysis, Skeleton·ID automatically considers the camera’s orientation, facial pose, focal length, and subject-to-camera distance for all images used. Results of the craniofacial superimposition are measured with a likelihood ratio. Skeleton ID’s skull face overlay becomes a powerful identification tool for examination and comparison by trained professionals.
If you have questions or would like us to consult on a case in which you feel our service would benefit you, please contact us.
Facial comparison/analysis, within a legal context, concerns assessing an individual’s possible identity using scaled and aligned photographic images or by demonstrating morphologically comparable features.
Civil and criminal investigators, private individuals, and collectors may submit photos for expert evaluation by Michael W. Streed, SketchCop® Solutions’ facial identification expert.
Michael has received over 100 hours of specialized training in forensic facial comparison & analysis conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ideal Innovation’s Face Center of Excellence, and MorphoTrak.
He has compared & analyzed facial photographs of celebrities, sports figures, murder victims, and alleged organized crime figures submitted by collectors, authors, and the entertainment industry.
In 2015, he was asked by the History Channel to evaluate and compare photographs of John and Clarence Anglin for their documentary – Alcatraz: Search for the Truth. The brothers escaped from the prison in 1962 with fellow inmate Frank Morris. For decades, they were presumed dead. It was Michael’s expert analysis that changed the course of the investigation.
Please get in touch with us if you have a project that requires facial comparison and analysis.
Age-progression photos are used by investigators to help locate missing persons, or hunt wanted fugitives.
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children pioneered the use of software technology to age progress photos of long-term missing children. Their success has encouraged investigators from local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to use these images during missing person cold cases.
The United States Marshals Service, whose duty is tracking and arresting America’s most violent criminals, uses age-enhanced photos to assist them during their investigations.
Civil attorneys have adopted the use of age-progression photos as a powerful litigation tool during wrongful death lawsuits. Family members of missing & deceased persons use them as tools for hope and comfort in their own search for loved ones or to help them grieve the untimely death of a friend or family member.
Michael is one of the world’s leading age progression artists/experts, with over 200+ hours of specialized training in age progression/regression provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. He uses traditional illustration techniques blended with AI-powered and industry-leading photo editing software to produce powerful images that pay respect to those missing & lives lost too soon.
If you want to learn more or hire us for your next project, visit our Contact page. Please be prepared to submit the information listed below.
Requirements:
- Please provide the most up-to-date scanned portrait-style photograph. Note: Fugitive Investigators should provide as much lifestyle or medical information as legally allowed.
- Include photographs of bloodline siblings or parents taken at or near the age of the missing/deceased person.
- Scanned photographs should be a minimum of 5 x 7 inches in size at 300-600 dpi resolution. To send multiple or oversized photos, e-mail Contact@SketchCop.com to receive instructions.
- SketchCop® WILL NOT accept original photographs.
Note: The completed image is not guaranteed to be an ‘exact likeness’ of the person depicted. It should only be considered an “approximation.”
Michael is asked by museums, authors, and media production companies to provide commissioned historical age-progression photographs of historical figures and celebrities. If you would like to book him for your next project, please visit our Contact page.
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima is the 11th Panchen Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, recognized by the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan Buddhist leaders. He disappeared in 1995 and has not been seen since. It’s believed he was kidnapped and is being held by the Chinese government. (Image commissioned by Garthwaite and Griffin Films.) CLICK HERE to watch the video, ‘Tibet’s Stolen Child’.
Amelia Earhart was an American aviation pioneer. She was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1937, Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean during an attempt to fly around the globe. (Image commissioned by The Paragon Agency.)
George Roberts was a free black sailor from Baltimore, MD. He distinguished himself during the War of 1812, was captured, and returned to Baltimore upon his release. (Image commissioned by the Maryland Historical Society.)
Caspar Collins was a second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was killed in the 1865 Battle of the Platte Bridge Station while fighting the Lakota and Cheyenne Indians. Today, the city of Ft. Collins, WY, bears his name, as does the U.S. Army post, Ft. Caspar. (Image commissioned by Fort Caspar Museums.)
Michael is often asked to provide high-quality exhibits, analyze facial images, review scripts, and provide technical consulting for the entertainment industry during projects that involve forensic facial imaging. He occasionally offers expert commentary for news programs and true crime documentaries.
Past projects have included documentary films and TV specials, true crime, history, fiction, and nonfiction literary works.
Michael has created images or appeared as himself during several fiction and nonfiction true crime programs airing on The History Channel, ID Discovery, HLN, Amazon Video – Bosch and Bosch Legacy, Netflix – Lincoln Lawyer, and Universal Pictures.
To book Michael for your next media project, contact Casting@PastPreservers.com.