SketchCop 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,…
Erik Ortiz, NBC News, examines the state of forensic art versus technology in his article titled, ‘Dying Art?’: Forensic Artists Face a Digital Future. In his article, Ortiz interviews Michael W. Streed, owner of SketchCop Solutions, about his views on the ‘state of the art’. To learn more about how SketchCop Solutions is leading the evolution from pencil…
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.
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.
Occasionally, 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.
Over the years I’ve learned that most jobs are made easier by having the right tools. This is equally important in the computing world when you are trying to find the proper peripheral to help maximize your software experience.
When it comes to using SketchCop FACETTE software; I’ve found that a graphics tablet, with pen, is the perfect pointing device. I know from experience that many end users rarely give a graphics tablet serious consideration. Many believe that a graphics tablet was designed strictly for drawing. Most users have grown so accustomed to the standard computer mouse, they’ve probably never considered using anything else!
There’s less than one month to go until our 2-day, hands on facial composite imaging course. Creating Digital Composite Images for Law Enforcement will be held in Las Vegas, NV on October 10 & 11, 2013. Limited seating is still available. For more information visit www.SketchCop.com. The course features our SketchCop FACETTE Face Design System…
SketchCop® FACETTE® Face Design System reached a milestone last week with the release of Version 8.6. Law enforcement’s #1 digital composite imaging software is now interoperable with Adobe® Photoshop® making SketchCop® FACETTE® arguably the strongest, most versatile facial imaging software on the market.
For years many companies have touted the benefits of their own facial composite software products. With a dearth of qualified Forensic Artists, law enforcement was left with little choice than to use them. Often the results were less than impressive, allowing many in the Forensic Art community to question the software’s effectiveness while trumpeting their own skills.
With the latest release of SketchCop® FACETTE®, law enforcement has a more valuable option, one that will allow them to create high-quality digital composite images that rival those produced by many sketch artists.