ARTISTIC ENHANCEMENT IN THE PRODUCTION OF PHOTO-FIT LIKENESSES - AN EXAMINATION OF ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN LEADING TO SUSPECT IDENTIFICATION

Following a crime, witnesses are often asked by the police to construc t a Photo-FIT likeness of the suspect. However, previous laboratory re search has indicated that the quality of the likenesses produced can b e very poor. This study investigated whether the artistic enhancement of the basic Photo-FIT by a skilled operator using a variety of techni ques influenced the quality of the Photo-FIT impression produced, and in turn increased the likelihood of correct recognition from the Photo -FIT. Six professional police Photo-FIT operators produced one basic P hoto-FIT which was not artistically enhanced in any way and one Photo- FIT which had been artistically enhanced. These two types of Photo-FIT were given to 105 police recruits who were required to identify which face that Photo-FIT represented from a photographic lineup of 12 'sus pect' photographs. Composites which had been enhanced were significant ly more successful in leading to a correct identification than were ba sic composites which had not been enhanced. The implications of these findings for police procedure and practice in the employment of commer cial composite systems are discussed.