The first uniform forensic identification method was developed by Alphonse Bertillon over a hundred years ago. In the twentieth century, his descriptive signalment and signalment by peculiar marks methods were replaced by forensic art. In the 1970s, advances in technology took forensic identification methods a step further with the aid of Photofit kits. In its time, Photofit kit was hailed as ‘the world’s best criminal identification technique’ with a potential of making up nine billion faces:
Population of the earth is estimated at four billion, 81 million. A police Department spokesman said today the makers claimed Photofit was the ultimate identification unit. No additions would ever have to be made to it. Its potential for preparation of full-face likenesses of suspects was 9,81,979,200. (Telegraph, 10 Nov 1977)
‘An example of what new QPS Photofit Kit can do’, Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.
Photofit boxes (one for male suspects and one for female) contained photos of sections of noses, eyes, chins, mouths, foreheads, hair, ears, brows, moustaches, beards, age-lines, wrinkles, hair style and eye and headwear. There were up to 300 images of some of these. The key disadvantages of the system were that the images were available only in black and white, while pre-set hair, facial hair, headwear and eyewear styles were swiftly going out of fashion and becoming obsolete.
Detective Sergeant Al Higgs, Telegraph 10 Nov 1977.
Following Photofit the QPS employed a police artist in the early 1990s to compile freehand drawings from witness descriptions. This was an effective method in the south east corner of Queensland, but was more difficult in regional and remote parts of the state.
Later the 1990s witnessed yet another jump in forensic facial identification methods with the introduction of Computer Facial Identification Techniques system, or COMFIT (Com-Fit). The original Com-Fit book contained 29 head shapes, 145 pairs of eyes, 80 hairdos, 36 noses and 27 mouths. ‘The computer [turned] these basic shapes into an infinite number of different modifications. The new system [did] in minutes what used to take an hour…The image which [resulted] from the new system was also very life-like making it easier for victims to confirm the likeness.’ (Vedette 154, Sep 1993). In 1999, a revised version of the COMFIT system was released. Developed by the Photographic Section of the Queensland Police Service, the new COMFIT saw the number of pre-programmed facial components expanded to 650, scanned at a higher resolution and with wider selection of contemporary accessories such as hair styles, glasses and earrings, etc.
The latest evolution in facial composite construction came with a launch of the Colour Comfit eBook in December, 2011. The eBook uses colour facial components, instead of traditional black and white, and encompasses more than 2,000 individual images sorted and categorised into gender and racial types allowing for easier navigation and more realistic images; ‘necks are now integrated into the face shapes, hair grows out of a scalp rather than just hanging in space’ with more up to date hair styles.
The progression of forensic identification. Special thanks to Photographic Technical Officer Keryl Willis for these images.
According to Photographic Technical Officer Keryl Willis, the new colour version of Comfit should be more effective in triggering recognition, as feedback suggests that some younger witnesses were not always able to interpret black and white images due to their limited previous exposure to black and white television and photography.
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This information has been provided by the Queensland Police Museum from the best resources available. The article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova.
The Police Museum is open 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb-Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Contact: E: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Police Kit to Fit the Criminals” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence.
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