Catching even more offenders with EvoFIT facial composites

Abstract

Facial composites are an investigative tool used by police to identify suspects of crime. Unfortunately, traditional methods to construct the face have rather low success rates. We have been developing a new recognition-based method called EvoFIT that requires eyewitnesses to select whole faces from arrays of alternatives. Both published laboratory research and existing police field-trials have found that EvoFIT produces images that are more identifiable than images from traditional systems. In the current paper, we present an evaluation of a more recent version of EvoFIT: in 2010, EvoFIT was deployed in 35 criminal investigations by Humberside police and these images directly led to identification of 21 suspects, equating to 60% success—quadruple the performance of the previous system used within the force. The evaluation also showed that identification of a suspect led to conviction in 29% of investigations (6 out of 21). Overall, a conviction occurred in 17% of cases involving use of an EvoFIT (6 out of 35). We also outline more recent developments which indicate that an arrest is now likely in three out of every four cases in which EvoFIT is used, and a conviction rate of one in five.