As any Forensic Artist will tell you, a Forensic Artist can be the best artist in the world, but if they do not listen to their witness or victim, the drawing will be nothing but a good drawing. The drawing needs to give a fair and accurate likeness of the suspect.
It wasn't until I attended the forensic art course taught by Lois Gibson that my department and I understood the importance of a composite as an additional tool in a criminal investigation. For that reason, my department allowed me to get additional training with some of the best forensic artists in the field at the FBI Academy.
A composite helps in so many ways, but what I have experienced more often is that when you add a face to the description, that narrows hundreds of people that may fit that description. For instance, take the photo below. If I say I am looking for an African American, 5'6" med. complexion, with an afro, wearing a baseball hat, that could describe a number of people. Now if I give the same description and add a composite, we've just narrowed the population.
Forensic Art also includes 2D & 3D facial reconstruction, age progression and post-mortem sketches.
I have included some of my cases below with a short synopsis.
The suspect above was charged with Robbery. In this case he robbed the victim of his MP3 player. The composite was completed shortly after the robbery. With the composite in hand, Detectives located the suspect leaving an apartment complex the following day near where the robbery took place. While interviewing the victim, they wanted the hair drawn the way it is in the composite, which as a forensic artist, you wonder who in the world would have their hair like this. I reviewed surveillance footage from a convenient store and located the suspect in the store 20 minutes before the robbery. Amazingly enough, the suspect had his hat and hair the same as in the composite. See the above photo.
The suspect above was charged with Residential Burglary. He was observed exiting an apartment in an area where we had a large amount of Burglaries. The witness, who was an officer, was at ground level approximately 8 steps below the landing where the suspect was standing, which I think is why the witness had the face longer than usual. The suspect threw the items he was stealing at the officer and fled the scene.
A day later, the composite was shown to management in the apartment complex the suspect was last seen running through. They recognized the composite and a subsequent search warrant was obtained.
The suspect was located in the the apartment. Ironically, the suspect shaved his beard off prior to execution of the warrant to avoid identification.
The suspect above was charged with Robbery. In this case she tried to steal the book bag from a college student waiting for the bus line. The composite was completed shortly after the robbery attempt. Investigators were called later in the evening by patrol and advised they had a person that resembled the composite. The suspect was interviewed and admitted to being the person involved in the robbery incident.
On an interesting note, the Investigator had the composite lying on the table when they spoke to the suspect's mother. The suspect's mother asked why the investigator had a drawing of her daughter. You can't beat that kind of identification.
Suspects not identified from other cases
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The suspect in this case was charged with Home Invasion. The composite was completed by a witness to the crime. The victim sustained 7 stab wounds. The suspect above was identified through additional forensic evidence recovered at the scene.
Suspect drawn from various surveillance clips - identified as our Wal-Mart robber.
