A new atlas for the evaluation of facial features: advantages, limits, and applicability (original) (raw)
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This study aims to discuss the limitations in the facial analysis of closed-circuit television (CCTV) images, including the use of morphological and anthropometric methods, and to analyze the level of effectiveness of CCTV images, taking into account any negative factors that may affect the forensic anthropologist/forensic facial examination expert’s conclusion. Ten forensic experts from different forensic laboratories and universities participated in this research. The experts were asked to compare the query CCTV images, which were of varied quality, with the target images. The results suggest that a high error rate and low-level assessment are provided by low quality CCTV images, whereas morphological and anthropometric analysis can be performed more accurately and correctly with the high level of assessment provided by moderate/reasonable quality CCTV images. To use morphological and anthropometric methods efficiently and take maximum advantage of the use of security cameras in forensic facial identification, it is suggested to set a CCTV recording standard for high quality recordings.
Personal identification in legal proceedings and social matters consists of the description, comparison and correct attribution of some relevant biological individualising characteristics. Determination of an identity is generally achieved through construction of the biological profile (i.e. ancestry, sex, age, stature) and comparison of the individualising characteristics, to obtain a positive match. Although present techniques are mainly focused on identification of unknown decedents, due to more recent proliferation of personal, public and commercial installation of video surveillance systems and to image capture on mobile phones, the identification of living persons through video and images has become a major source of evidence in criminal investigations and at trials. This paper retrospectively evaluates the contributions of anthropological reports to the resolution of personal identification cases at the Operative Unit of Anthropology of the ‘G. d’Annunzio’ University of Chieti–Pescara, Italy, between 1996 and 2019. Of the 476 forensic facial comparisons carried out, for 151 of them (31.7%) it was not possible to carry out any facial imaging analysis due to diverse factors that affected the images and facial features of the subjects being analysed and compared. Of the remaining comparisons (325; 68.3%), the facial imaging techniques used for identification from video recordings and images were: morphological analysis (174; 53.5%); metric analysis (1; 0.3%); combination of morphological and metric analysis (143; 44.0%); photographic superimposition in combination with morphological and metric analysis (4; 1.2%); and facial approximation (3; 0.9%). The aim of this retrospective analysis was a critical evaluation of the advantages and limitations of the different methods used for personal identification in casework. Despite the challenges of facial imaging for human identification, these techniques represent a very important tool in forensic investigations.
Forensic anthropology, personal identification of the living
Global escalation of crime has necessitated the use of digital imagery to aid the identification of perpetrators. Forensic facial comparison (FFC) is increasingly employed, often relying on poor-quality images. In the absence of standardized criteria, especially in terms of video recordings, verification of the methodology is needed. This paper addresses aspects of FFC, discussing relevant terminology, investigating the validity and reliability of the FISWG morphological feature list using a new South African database, and advising on standards for CCTV equipment. Suboptimal conditions, including poor resolution, unfavorable angle of incidence, color, and lighting, affected the accuracy of FFC. Morphological analysis of photographs, standard CCTV, and eye-level CCTV showed improved performance in a strict iteration analysis, but not when using analogue CCTV images. Therefore, both strict and lenient iterations should be conducted, but FFC must be abandoned when a strict iteration pe...
Photoanthropometry quantify the facial proportions of an individual facilitating the comparison of facial patterns for human identification. The coordinates and vertical distances in pixels of the photoanthropometric landmarks on images of the same individual in frontal and profile views were analyzed and compared. A total of 116 pairs of photographs of Brazilian individuals were evaluated. The photographs were adjusted in size and rotation, and marked in the software Two-dimensional Forensic Facial Analysis System. For each face, 16 landmarks were considered: glabella (g), nasion (n), ectocanthion (ec), pronasale (prn), subnasale (sn), alare (al), cheilion (ch), upper lip (ls), lower lip (li), stomion (sto), labiomental (lm), gnathion (gn), superaurale (sa), subaurale (sba), postaurale (pa) and upper ear lobe (slb); the x- and y-coordinates of each landmark were obtained. Twenty-seven vertical distances between the points were proposed, which were measured by subtracting the values...
Bruinsma, G. and Weisburd, D. (eds), Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice, New York: Springer, p. 1713-29. ISBN 978-1-4614-5689-6 (Print), 978-1-4614-5690-2 (Online) doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_170