ONLINE WITNESS INTERVIEW

An online witness interview procedure is designed to work much the same as a live interview with the witness, and in a few ways it is far better and more convenient. The only requirement is that the investigator must  have a PC, and an Internet connection.

Let me explain.

  • Convenience:

There are always the problems in arranging appointments. Two people have to travel to a meeting place. With an online interview there is more than one alternative. You must have a time arranged with the artist but you don't have to worry about the artist in any other way. The investigator only needs to have the the witness near a computer with an Internet connection, but this does not mean that the interview has to be at the investigators office. It could take place anywhere the requirements will permit. Even the witness's home will work.

     

  • Advantages: 
1. The first advantage is that the artist is in the very best situation,    They are in their own studio with art equipment and reference materials close at hand.
 
2. There will be a complete report and an audio recording of the interview to submit as evidence and also for use in investigative analysis. 
 
3. The investigator will have the report and the composite image on a disc, which will be easy to print with a good printer. This can also be done with a high quality laser copier.   sample
  • Other Artistic Advantages: 
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    These have to do with my expertise in the field of Forensic Artistry. Personally I feel that the real advantage is presenting relative material and excluding confusing image data. It would be much better to leave an area blank that you are not sure of rather than include something that could side track an investigation. On the other hand I feel that one of the most important visual references is almost always ignored. If you were to display a body type next to the facial composite, you would find this to be a positive addition that would eliminate many bogus leads.
    Let me elaborate a little further. During the 1980's I was involved with investigations that dealt with skeletal identification. I had instruction from anthropologists in the muscle structure of the human skull. It is a fact that our skeletal anatomy is key to our physical identity. This means that if we have an accurate enough composite rendering of a skull type, then we could determine shapes of some features not exposed to a witness's view. These composite revisions would only be revealed privately in the questioning process, the same as a suspects photograph; never to the witness who directed the composite. In the Unabom case you can examine the accuracy displayed in example on the left.
  • What does this mean?
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    With this analysis ability, it is possible to work on video surveillance images to sharpen, or remove glasses and other disguises. The argument could be made that this would invalidate a witness. Not if the witness does not see the rendering. How good would a witness be in a situation where the eyes were not seen? What we need is a way to find tangible evidence, and one way to do that is to have an idea of who to investigate. 

     

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