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,1 January 1994 Volume 63 Number 1

United States Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, DC 20535

Louis J. Freeh, Features Director

Contributors' opinions and statements should not be considered as an endorsement for any policy, program, or service by the Higher Education Educational standards for police FBI. for Law Enforcement personnel enhance police professionalism. {tfto ~3 3 By Michael G. Breci The Attorney General has a determined that the publication of this periodical is necessary in the transaction of the public Forensic Imaging Comes of Age Enhanced computer technology business required by law. advances the field of forensic Use of funds for printing this By Gene O'Donnell periodical has been imaging, providing lawe~'PJcement II with new capabilities. Lft0 approved by the Director of f 534 the Office of Management and Budget. Child Abuse: Understanding child development is • the key to successful interviews of The FBI Law Enforcement Interviewing Possible Victims young sexual abuse victims. Bulletin (ISSN·0014-5688) By David Gullo Em is published monthly by the /%j-:3~ Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1Dlh and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20535. Second-Class postage paid Obtaining Consent to The use of deception to obtain at Washington, D.C., and Enter by Deception consent to enter is a useful iaw additional mailing offices. enforcement to~1f..hen legal'%.. Postmaster: Send address By John Gales Sauls employed. / S changes to FBI Law '1-6 3 8' Enforcement Bulletin, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D.C. 20535.

Editor Departments Dr. S.cpl1en D. Gladis Managing Editor Kathryn E. Sulewski Art Director 1~53:) John E. Ott 11 Notable Speeches 18 Bulletin Repc-rts Associate Editors Causes of Violence Gang Information Andrew DiRosa Karen F. McCarron Needle Exchange Programs Kimberly J. Waggoner 16 VICAP Alert Assfstant Art Director Robert Lee Clegg 24 Research Forum /'/(pj""".31 Amelia J. Brooks Production Manager Videotaping Interrogations T.L. Wilson Staff Assistant Darlene J. Butler

Cover photo by K.L. Morrison

ISSN 0014-5688 USPS 383-310 U.S. Department of Justice National Institute of Justice

This document has been reproduced exactly as received from the person or organization originating it. Points otvlew or opinions slaled in tllis document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent ths official position or policies of Ihe National Institute of Justice. Permission to reproduce this copyrighted material has been granted by FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

to the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Further reproduction outside of the NCJRS system requires permission oHhe copyright owner. n 1987, the FBI's Newark, Forensic Imaging New Jersey, field office for­ I warded a then unusual request for forensic assistance to the Special Comes of Age Projects Section of the FBI Labora­ By tory. Agents asked if it would be GENE O'DONNELL possible to produce age-enhanced photographs of a longtime fugitive J:.). in order to better represent to the public and to other investigative .... - agencies how the subject might cur­ :"'§'t! ~it ,¢',. .... '>+ rently appear. The fugitive, John E. List, had eluded detection since murdering his entire family 17 years earlier. Using newly acquired computer systems, visual information special­ ists in the FBI Laboratory prepared an age-enhanced image of John List and forwarded it to the field office. The office then publicized the pho­ tograph in various national publica­ iii:t . " <, ::'~,. "..,-. ~~~ tions. A woman recognized her neighbor as List (who lived under the assumed name Robert P. Clark) from the age-enhanced image that appeared in a supermarket tabloid. The woman dared Clark's wife to confront lh~r husband with the pho­ tograph. Apparently, she never did. Two ye~:rs later, in 1989, the List after his arrest in 1989. television srow, America's Most Wanted, featurt~d a plaster bust pre­ pared by a forensic ani"l that was based on photographs of List. By this time, List had moved to Midlothian, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. Convinced that Clark was, in fact, John List, his former neighbor asked her son-in-law to call the FBI and provide investiga­ tors with List's new address. When agents confronted the man, he de­ nied he was List. But fingerprints Photograph of John List Age-enhanced image Plaster bust based on from a gun permit application filed a taken prior to 1971. ofJohn List prepared in photographs of John List. 1987. month before the siayings revealed the truth. List was arrested and

______January 1994/5 compositing and retouching sys­ "The FBI's imaging tem. The system produces age-en­ program is based on a hanced photographs, merged im­ sophisticated photo ages (Le., a human skull combined with antemortem photographs), and compositing and reconstructed facial images based retouching system. solely on the skeletal remains. The forensic artist can also create de­ tailed composite sketches on the " system and use the system to per­ form other retouching functions. In order to produce a desired image, forensic artists must gener­ Mr. O'Donnell is a visual information specialist in the Special ate several preliminary images. Projects Section of the FBI Laboratory, Washington, DC. These initial and intermediate im­ ages, as well as the final product, are collected together in a folder re­ fen'ed to as a "film." returned to New Jersey, where he Composed primarily of off-the­ A film consists of several was convicted of murder and sen­ shelf hardware and software, the images, or "frames," in sequence. tenced to life in prison. system allows operators to alter Each frame corresponds to one of The John List case is notable for photographs for investigative pur­ the images used to produce the several reasons, including List's poses by projecting the likeness of final product. To ease handling, the ability to elude detection for 17 individuals as they might currently artist binds the frames together in a years and the impact of mass media appear. By combining the sophisti­ single film. This also ensures that all on his capture. For the FBI Labora­ cation of the computer system with materials necessary to produce the tory, the List case also signaled a the forensic art skills of the operator, final image can be found in a single new age in computer-assisted foren­ age-enhancement and other imag­ place. sic imaging. ing can be achieved with a high degree of accuracy. AGE ENHANCEMENT BACKGROUND The programmer who devel­ The age-enhancement process Traditionally, forensic artists oped the system used by the FBI begins by entering the images that assisted investigators by producing worked closely with Laboratory will be used in an "update" into the drawings and airbrushed photo­ personnel in making necessary computer system. Forensic artists graphs based on witness accounts or modifications to enhance the com­ enter these images into the system in photographs. Over the years, foren­ puter's capabilities. The user­ several different ways. sic artists produced many such im­ friendly format allows operators In the most common method, ages, which assisted in solving nu­ with limited computer training to the forensic artist uses the video merous cases. However, advances make full use of the system. As camera to "grab" or digitize photo­ in computer technology now allow always, the most critical element graphs into the system. This is ac­ these same artists to create or alter is the forensic r'rt ski lIs of the complished by placing a photograph images much faster, more accu­ operators. on a copy stand under an activated rately, and with many more options video camera to produce an image than ever before. COMPUTER·ASSISTED on the display monitor. When the In 1986, the FBI purchased FORENSIC IMAGING photograph has been properly the computer system used for the The FBI's imaging program is framed, the camera focused, and the age-enhancement of John List. based on a sophisticated photo lights adjusted, the image is

6/ FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin ______-

"grabbed." The computer then appears in a pop-up menu. The op­ based solely or in part, on this inves­ converts the image into digital form erator alters the image by selecting tigative technique. and stores it in its memory. The different commands from the vari­ To update a child's appearance, forensic artist then repeats the ous menus and then drawing on the the forensic artist enters photos of image entry process for each refer­ image using the stylus. Mistakes the child, as well as one or both ence image used in the aging pro­ can be corrected through a variety of parents (or Hiblings who resemble cess. When all of the photographs commands. the child) into the computer. The have been entered into the system, operator then creates grids for the forensic artist begins creating Child Aging each image that "describe" the lo­ the aged image. When "aging" childhood pho­ cation of the facial features in that The computer displays avail­ tographs, forensic m1ists can de­ image. One or more of the missing able commands in a collection of velop highly accurate and detailed child's photographs are "warped" or pop-up menus driven by a fixed enhancements by studying photo­ realigned to bring the features of menu selection that runs across graphs of the subjects' family mem­ thOat image into alignment with the bottom of the screen. The opera­ bers to gauge accurate facial growth those of another. tor selects a category by pointing patterns. Since the introduction of After this process, the images to it with a pen-shaped stylus. Once the computer-assisted system, the can be composited (or combined). the operator makes a selection, the FBI Laboratory has assisted in lo­ The result represents the aged image list of conm1ands in that category cating several missing persons, because warping simulates the

System Configuration

or any forensic imaging function, the stylus, much as an artist might sketch with a F software reqnires the following basic pencil or pen. hardware configuration: A standard personal The color video monitor displays the computer (PC) terminal containing at least 4 images and the menus that control the pro­ megabytes of memory and a minimum 100 gram. A color monitor is preferable, even megabyte hard disk, a digitizing tablet, color though the images are black and white (also video display monitor, and a video camera called gray-scale). The color monitor yields with lights (preferably mounted on a stand). far greater resolution than an ordinary televi­ A "grabber/buffer" board should be installed sion screen. in the main terminal. If necessary, custom A video camera captures the images that hardware configurations can also be are used to prod~ce an altered image. The supported. camera is mounted on a copy stand so that the Connected to the PC, the digitizing tablet source photos used to produce updates can be is used as a pointing device. The computer easily scanned. The artist converts the image detects the position of the stylus and draws produced by the camera into digital informa­ crosshairs on the video screen to show its tion, which is then stored in the computer. cunent location. The operator draws with the

------0------0------Janua~1994/7 growth ofthe child's face. The per­ Adult Aging from this full-face angle can be centages of the images to be The aging of an adult subject compensated for during the warping composited can also be adjusted to works in a very similar manner to process, but some distortion may emphasize one image or another. By the updating process for a child. The result. If the deviation is too great, adjusting these percentages, as well primary difference lies in the use of another image should be used. as the degree of warping, the artist an age template that is combined determines the "age" of the resulting with the image to be aged. The artist SUPERIMPOSITION image. Retouching capabilities al­ modifies the template to fit the fea­ Forensic laboratories often re­ low for various hairstyles or the re­ tures of the image. ceive requests for assistance in cases moval of blemishes. Because cranial growth is com­ that require the comparison of an When deciding on what photo­ plete in adults, the artist gives spe­ antemortem photograph with a re­ graphs to combine with the child's cial attention to preparing an accu­ covered cranium and mandible Uaw image, investigators should look for rate depiction of the skin surface, bone). The computer-assisted sys­ similarity of features in the photo­ adding necessary creases around the tem for photographic superimposi­ graphs of the relatives taken at ap­ eyes, forehead, and other appropri­ tion offers ahighly effective method proximately the same age as the ate areas. Indications of hair loss in to demonstrate consistency (or in­ missing child. However, in photo­ earlier photos or information from consistency) between skeletal fea­ graphs to be used in the update, witnesses may lead the artist to re­ tures and facial photographs. relatives must be as close as pos­ move hair or make other changes, First, the antemortem photo­ sible to the age the child would be such as adding a beard or a scar or graph is scanned with a video cam­ currently. The position of the heads adjusting the weight of the face. era and then digitized and stored in in the photographs of the child and As with the updating of a the computer. The artist traces key the relatives must match closely. child's image, any photographs that anatomical "landmarks" directly Facial expressions should also are to be combined must be in onto a plastic overlay on the moni­ match. Ideally, photographs should similar orientations-preferably tor. The image of the photograph is be evenly lit and of high qualit~. head-on shots. Slight deviations removed from the monitor, and the image of the cranium and articulated mandible is oriented manually until Child Aging the position approximates that of the individual in the photograph. The image of the photograph and the image of the cranium/ mandible are then merged or su­ perimposed to allow detailed com­ parison. The artist stores the super­ imposed images and prints them on high-resolution printers. Accu­ rate comparison requires the com­ bined efforts of a skilled forensic artist and an experienced forensic anthropologist. FACIAL REPRODUCTIONS When investigators find human Photograph of a child at age 3. Age-enhanced image of the same skeletal remains with few clues as child as a teenager. to their identities, forensic scien­ tists, artists, and anthropologists

8 I FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin ------______often attempt to re-create the images victim, quickly sketching a portrait PUBLICIZING IMAGES of the individuals from the skeletal of an unknown assailant. While Investigators should remember remains. In the past. two-dimen­ real-world forensic artists often that even the most accurate fQrensi.c sional drawings and three-dimen­ produce portrait-style drawings, images are of little value if potential sional reproductions of the re­ these images generally require witnesses never see them. This is mains-with clay added directly to hours of interviewing, drawing, and especially true of age-enhanced the cranium to simulate anatomical revision. photographs. features-produced helpful leads The FBI has converted its book After sending the photographs for investigators. of photographs used for interview­ to Federal, State, and local law en­ In recent years, facial reproduc­ ing witnesses for composites into fOl'cement agencies, in':e:stigators tion has become an increasingly handdrawn images to use as a data­ should consider additional ways to important tool within forensic an­ base on a computer that will auto­ publicize the image. The more thropology to identify missing per­ matically generate images similar to people who see the image, the sons. While the technique is of little better. value for purposes of positive iden­ Generally, programs that spot­ tification, it can be extremely useful light criminals and missing persons in presenting an image to the public. on national or local television and/ In computer-assisted facial re­ ... computer-assisted or in newspapers yield the best re­ production, the cranium and articu­ "programs provide sults. One investigator from Oak­ lated mandible are positioned in greatly improved land, California, reached out across what is called the Frankfort horizon­ capabilities at a the United States and Canada with tal plane (a scientific articulation of fraction of the time age-enhanced images of two miss­ the cranium and mandible for pho­ ing brothers. After exhausting every tographing the cranium) and similar irnaging once lead, the investigator turned to scanned with the camera. The artist took. the television program Unsolved selects features and adds them to the Mvsteries. captured cranial image. The artist . On the eveni ng of the broadcast, and the anthropologist then modify hundreds of calls poured in from the the features until a lifelike image Albuquerque, New Mexico, area. conforming to the proportions of the those that are handdrawn. Once" the Authorities located the children in a underlying cranium is produced. In witness selects features from the trailer on the outskirts of town, the FBI Laboratory, facial compo­ catalog, the composite image ap­ where they lived with their mother nents are selected from a large data­ pears on the computer screen in just and her new husband-a known base of handdrawings that depict a few minutes. drug dealer. The boys were returned wide variations in facial features, Often, an artist is not even nec­ to their father, who had not seen complexions, and hairstyles. essary. With practice, investigators them in several years. Although the can place the features on the screen aged image,,; af the boys were very COMPOSITE SKETCHES and modify the image as the witness accurate, the relentless determina­ For many years, investigatot's instructs. The system can be loaded tion of the investigator and the as­ have sought the assistance of foren­ into a laptop computer to further sistance of the public ultimately sic artists in yet another area of fo­ speed up the process by taking it solved the case. rensic imaging-composite sketch­ directly to a crime scene. It can also Other methods can be used to ing. FBI use of such drawings dates be accessed via a modem hookup publicize an image. Most States back to 1920; use in other agencies or put online, with an artist in an­ have at least one agency dedicated dates back even further. Television other city available to prepare the to the location of missing children programs often depict a police composite while a witness views that assists investigators in publiciz­ corl1posite artist at the bedside of a and suggests changes. ing such cases. Wanted and missing

------______Janua~1994/9 1IB7

Guidelines for Submitting Evidence T he FBI Laboratory accepts a limited bones should be packaged separately and then .I. number of forensic imaging requests placed in a sturdy box. Soft bubble plastic or each year from State and local law enforce­ comparable materials should be used to ment agencies. Before forwarding skeletal cushion the evidence. facial remains to the FBI Laboratory for Before submitting evidence, however, reconstruction or comparison to antemortem investigators should first call the FBI Hairs photographs, the remains should be complete­ and Fibers Unit to discuss the case. An ly defleshed and cleaned, preferably by a explanatory letter with relevant background medical examiner or anthropologist. The information should accompany the submis­ medical examiner's report ~ll1d any hairs, sion. Requests for supenmpositions and facial fibers, and photographs taken at the discovery reproductions should be tlent to: site or medical examiner's office, as well as Federal Bureau of Investigation any other pertinent evidence, should accom­ 9th and Pennsylvania A venue, NW pany the submission. Washington, DC 20535 1n cases where investigators suspect that Attention: Laboratory Division they may know the identity of the subject, Hairs and Fibers Unit recent antemortem photographs, as well as Requests concerning composite art, age­ photographs of the possible subject smiling progression, or other photographic retouch (for dental comparisons), should be included. should be sent to the attention of the Labora­ Agencies should package materials . tory's Special Projects Section. carefully to avoid damage. All evidence and

person posters often provide a facial images on screen, ~,nowing ment with enhanced facial identifi­ worthwhile medium. Many printing for more movementoffacial expres­ cation capabilities as the 21 st cen­ companies produce posters and fly­ sion and the addition of detailed tury approaches. ers concerning missing children at a facial features to the image. reduced rate or at no charge. Com­ New technology will also en­ CONCLUSION panies offering coupon advertise­ hance superimposition capabilities. For decades, forensic imaging ments featuring missing children For example, on-screen rotation of has benefited law enforcement. have also !,":.-oven effective. cranial images will allow forensic Now, computer-assisted programs artists to align antemortem photo­ provide greatly improved capabili­ THE FUTURE graphs more accurately. ties at a fraction of the time similar New computer-assisted foren­ These and other improvements imaging once took. When combined sic imaging technology looms just will enable forensic artists to pro­ with the communicative power of on the horizon. For example, the vide new levels of assistance to in­ modern mass media, the impact of introduction of three-dimensional vestigators. Further computeriza­ forensic imaging can produce im­ digital skull imaging will give fo­ tion of the forensic imaging process pressive results, even for cases once rensic artists the ability to rotate promises to provide law enforce- deemed hopeless ....

10 / FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin