EVERY FACE TELLS A STORY
- in search of the missing and the suspect -
PART 1

By Karien v/d Merwe

Without visual identification of some kind or other, investigating officers’ hands are tied. In some cases visual material is available, but more often than not it is of very poor quality - for example a video shot by a closed-circuit security camera. Enters the SAPS Facial Identification Unit, or more commonly known, Identikit.

For the purpose of this article, the members of the Facial Identification Unit in Pretoria were asked to give the SAPS Journal an inside view of their duties and share their success stories. The Unit comprises Insp Jeanette Naudé, Sgt Ntlhoro Israel Makena, Sgt Willem Heath and secretary Palisa Banda. According to Jeanette, who has a service record of 29 years (17 years of which have been spent at this Unit), her work offers her the opportunity to combine two interests in her life: police work and graphic art. Thanks to this Unit’s proficiency in facial comparisons, successful prosecutions have been made possible. In 1989, for example, Jeanette compiled an identikit of a suspect involved in a bank robbery in Pretoria West. The identikit was so remarkably accurate that the suspect was arrested within days. On 27 February 1990 Jeanette received a personal commendation from the Police Commissioner at the time, Gen J V van der Merwe.

The effective compilation of facial features depends on a combination of a number of factors: artistic capability; computer literacy (graphic software); and, most important, sound interpersonal communication skills. “You must have a keen interest in this type of work to be successful,” says Jeanette. Sometimes it seems impossible to build a face around the scant details available, but with time and patience, the result can be surprising. The SAPS uses the computer programs Photoshop and Identikit 2000 to build faces on-screen. The Pretoria team prefers Photoshop because it gives them more leeway with tonal values, which can have a dramatic impact on the overall “feel” of how a face looks. The team members can work directly on-line at their offices, or, armed with their laptops, can render assistance at a specific venue as requested by the investigating officer.

As a child matures, the skull broadens and becomes bigger, and the jaw shows considerable growth. The amount of fat tissue and cartilage can increase or remain the same. However, the corners and size of the eyes always remain the same, except in cases of injury or cosmetic alteration.

Genetics obviously plays an important role, and the features of brothers, sisters and father, if available, are also used to produce a variety of possible images. However, there is always the possibility that the missing person’s features revert to those seen in a previous generation (atavism). It is, therefore, possible that a facial compilation may seem like the “twin” of the person when found, or that a facial compilation may not resemble the person at all.

Establishing a positive link between suspect and crime
Facial Comparisons
Without giving away the Unit’s trade secrets, the inner corner of the eye (endocanthion) is one of the fixed points used when comparing a photograph of a person with, for instance, a frame clipped from a video sequence. One example of a practical application is comparing a police photograph of a person suspected to be a bank robber with security camera footage shot while the crime was in progress.

Reconstructing a face from scratch
When a facial reconstruction must be compiled from scratch, the Unit member sits in front of the computer and follows the directions given by the witness or victim. Eight basic questions - the “recipe” for a regular face, are asked to compile the face. These questions cover aspects like race, build, sex, approximate age, the colour, length and style of the suspect’s hair, jewellery, scars, tattoos and language usage. After a basic facial form has been selected, the eyes, eyebrows and other features are filled in. After that, further adaptations are made, for example a broader neck, heavier or thinner eyebrows, flatter or shorter nose, etc. In the case of older persons, wrinkles are added. Tonal values play an important part in portraying the correct skin texture.

The art of building a two-dimensional face
Israel Mokena and Willem Heath both stressed the importance of sound interpersonal skills when dealing with a victim or witness of violent crime. They find their greatest job satisfaction in establishing a rapport with the victim and putting him or her at ease before they start building a face. Facial comparisons take time and patience, and one must bear in mind that one is dealing with that person on which is probably the worst day of his or her life. According to Willem his work has special rewards, because he connects with victims psychologically, and the interview gives victims a chance to vent their hurt and anger. Israel says that aiding the police in building the suspect’s face, gives the victim a sense of control over the situation, and an opportunity to assimilate and process the traumatic experience, especially in cases of rape and armed robbery.
 

“The investigating officer asked me to compile a suspect’s face using the description given by a man who had been a victim of violent crime. I had to drive to this man’s house, and when I had parked I went to the gate. The man suddenly came out and pointed a gun at me! I explained the reason for my being there and he finally let me in. But once inside, it was clear that he still didn’t trust me. I had to do my work at gunpoint. In my experience many Europeans don’t trust Africans - this white man had been the victim of black criminals. Later this man apologised profusely to me. All I can say is, it is my work, but the detective should have briefed the man beforehand.”

The Pretoria team: Sgt Ntlhoro Israel Makena; secretary Palisa Banda; Insp Jeanette Naudé and Sgt Willem Heath.

According to Jeanette South Africa has unique challenges as far as graphics and equipment go, because of the population’s diversity. “We found that the most accurate method is to scan a picture of someone resembling the suspect on the computer. The image is then manipulated; for example the eyes can be made smaller or the nose bigger. When a person can remember the assailant’s eyes, chances are very good that he or she will remember the rest of the face as well. As far as the actual facial compilation goes, everything depends on how the features are arranged in relation to one another, for example the distance between the mouth and nose, the nose and the eyes, and the eyes and the forehead. A profile of the suspect’s height and bearing is also compiled. People often do not realize how much information the memory retains regarding the posture and overall impression of a suspect.”

“You won’t find two people building the same face. Europeans tend to select smaller features, while Africans go for bigger features. A victim of violent crime, for example rape, would often not remember the assailant’s features, but she would be ultra-conscious of the aggressive expression in his eyes. As a result of the trauma inflicted during violent crime, victims are often able to remember their attackers’ faces for years after the incident. One example occurred when a women at an identification parade identified the man who had raped her four years before. Sometimes victims’ memory improves with time, because the initial shock impacts on their ability to recall images from memory. Compiling a suspect’s face serves as a sifting process and as a way for the victim to process the trauma,” says Jeanette.

According to Jeanette, it is much easier to build so-called “pretty” and “ugly faces”; it is the regular-featured, “ordinary” faces that pose a problem. People tend to remember certain features, often based on their own faces. “If you have small protruding ears, you tend to notice it in other people. The same goes for a prominent nose. It all boils down to association. In my experience, children are more observant than adults, and therefore build better faces. People find it easier to build faces belonging to their own ethnic group, except in cases where the victim grew up among people of a different nationality,” says Jeanette.

As a result of the high incidence of violent crime in South Africa, the Unit’s core business is facial composites. However, from time to time they are requested to assist in cases where foul play regarding pedigree animals is suspected, for example theft or the switching of animals after a transaction. And then there’s the love of gold in another form: Willem Heath showed the SAPS Journal several colour images he had drawn manually under the verbal guidance of a friend of a lady who had been murdered and her prized collection of jewellery stolen. The detectives copied and distributed the images among their informers and pawn shops, and the family had some visual material of the lost possessions to submit to the insurance company along with their claim.

The Unit also plays an important humanitarian role in making the identification of victims of violent crime easier on the next of kin. The SAPS Journal was shown crime scene photographs of a once-beautiful young woman who had been brutally beaten to death by her boyfriend. Instead of subjecting her relatives to seeing her battered body in the mortuary or showing them the shocking photographs from the police docket, Jeanette and her team used the available material to compile a computer image of the victim’s face. In cases concerning a John or Jane Doe, the Identikit members were formerly expected to make a pencil sketch of the deceased’s face at the mortuary, but nowadays they do it from LCRC photographs. The sketch is then copied and circulated in an attempt to establish the identity of the deceased.

In the course of compiling this article, it became clear that cutting-edge technology may be a valuable resource, but in the end individual personality traits like diligence, interviewing skills, patience and above all, initiative, provide the real edge to people doing this rewarding but emotionally demanding type of work.

[In the next issue the members of the Facial Identification Unit share some of the remarkable stories from their case files. We will also look at the way in which visual memory works, bring you news of acclaimed police artist Jeanne Boylan and give you an update on face recognition software.]

Acknowledgement:
The SAPS Journal would like to extend a special word of thanks to the members of the Facial Identification Unit, Pretoria, and in particular to Insp Jeanette Naudé, who shared her knowledge, and to Dir John P Lambert, Provincial Commander, LCRCs Gauteng, who approved the article for publication.