Computer Composites Of The Criminal

No doubt you've seen a police sketch in the nightly news or maybe you've even been the subject of one. In the old days police sketchists drew their pictures on paper as quickly as they could, using fractured and disparate eyewitness accounts to populate the sketch, get it in the hands of the chief of detectives, so he could assemble his team of crack investigators and hunt down the suspect.

dundundun! Blottered Art Week Day 4

Welcome to the age of computers. The age of cheap data and cheaper fingers. Sweatshop data mines run by flabby North Korean boys who wear pirate patches, the age of the inhuman highways that pipeline from room to room, driving information from one eye to the next, the age of corporate machines, the age of... cyberpunk forensic artists. dundundun!

There are some who don't like the age of the computer generated forensic sketch and prefer the flim and the flam of a real pencil and a piece of the white:

The shift toward computer-generated composites bothers some in the field who fear the technology will be used by people who are not formally trained or visually adept. But Taylor, who worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety for nearly two decades and now teaches forensic art to law enforcement officials around the country, isn't disturbed by the trend. She said computer-generated composites are a valuable tool.

"The most important factor in the composite is the interviewing skills," Taylor said. "They are more significant than whether you are doing computer-generated or hand-drawn sketches."

A much deserved round of applause for the men and women coordinated and talented enough to be able to produce a sketch that can then be used to identify a suspected criminal. Whether they use a computer or draw with a #2 pencil, they are doing a fine job helping keep our streets clear of phantoms made of pencil strokes.

This concludes Blottered Art week. wait --- only 4 days? Yes. dundundun!

A New Wrinkle in Forensic Art (WASHPO)