Forensic Facial Reconstruction Research Paper

Law enforcement agencies have relied on forensic art as one of their investigation methods for many years. The job of a forensic artist is quite difficult because he or she must reconstruct an image of an individual based on just hearsay and memory from another individual. The purpose of this study is to research forensic artists, also known as sketch artists, and their ability to draw up a suspect through the information provided by a witness. Interviews on two different forensic artists provide insight of the duties and hardships a law enforcement sketch artist takes on. The process of how law enforcement sketch artists are able to recreate the face of another individual, and how that picture can be a very useful piece of evidence for crime reports will also be addressed throughout the study. This study is relevant to anthropology because it touches on how how an individual perceives those around them and forensics itself is also one of the key topics discussed in biological anthropology.

The practice of identification is a very old technique in the forensic sciences. This paper will examine the use and application of forensic facial reconstruction. Through topics such as its use in the identification process, discussion of soft tissue thickness, the subjectivity of practitioners, and the reliability and accuracy of these techniques, this paper will hopefully address many strengths and weaknesses found within the practice of forensic facial reconstruction.

Computer reconstruction uses 3D technology to get a visual of the face while most use clay models a bad side to computer reconstruction is that you have to adjust the picture to make sure it is for sure.

Have certain interrogatories popped in your head repeatedly? How do we know if someone hears us beyond the grave? Can they determine if I died of natural causes or did someone cut my life thread short? Never really  thought about it have you? Well, if you did or not the answer is yes people!!! There are people who are adamant about understanding what caused our life to take a quick or long turn to the big paradise in the sky or the land of milk and honey as most people heard and proffered. They are the superheroes, advocates for the dead, Forensic Pathologist is the name. They hold the most important jobs in the world, because like I said before they are insistant with knowing what or whom triggered your expiration date?  Ha just a little humor for my comedy readers, yes you may have heard or be familiar of this occupation on Law and Order, Law and Order Criminal Intent, Law and Order SVU, CSI, etc.

The face should consist of cut-out sections. These can be sections for the eyes, nose, and mouth for example.

This technique involves science and art as it guesses on how the soft tissues may have fitted on the skull based on skull characteristics, sex, and race. The facial sculpting uses molding clay to create a modal of what the victim may have looked like in life. However, if this fails we could use carbon-14 dating. Carbon- 14 dating deals with the radiocarbon found in the air we breathe due to the above ground nuclear testing increase; teeth grown in intervals and absorb these microscopic molecules. In adults they can help date time of birth within a 1.5 range which can allow for investigators to search for hospitals that apply to the year of birth with the other evidence such as race, sex, age, ect to help narrow the search. Additionally, another test we could use called bone analysis. It is a basic test because, simply put, it is the observation of the bones. Bone analysis permits the collecting of past injuries to the bone such as a broken femur or a fracture to the occipital region of the skull that could be used to slim down the search among missing persons. Thus, allowing investigators to exclude missing persons who do not have these past injuries to the bone and focus on whose who's families have reported that they

This paper will focus mainly on the history and the various techniques that forensic facial reconstruction has to offer. It will also go over some problems or an issue that is process has faced over the years. The Daubert Standard will discuss and how facial reconstruction was allowed as evidence thru this standard. I will go over all the periods of time that facial reconstruction was used. Computerized and Clay reconstruction will be discussed and how they have help investigators solved current and cold case crimes.

forensic fiction. Shows like C.S.I. wouldn't be quite as interesting to the viewer if it

In other words, dental records are compared to teeth found to get a positive identification made. Dental records can find the age and many other biological features. In the text it states,”After that comes establishing a positive identification. The most common is dental records because almost all of us have been to a dentist and have had X-rays of our mouths.” This shows in cases where teeth are found the most common way forensic scientists use them is to establish an identity and biological profile.With this in mind, the text also states,”....because almost all of have been to a dentist and have X-rays of our mouths. But also DNA is important.” This shows that teeth help victim identification through data analysis. Lastly, anthropologist work with odontologist to help identify a

This paper explores the history of forensic odontology, the technologies of odontology, the requirements to pursue a career in forensic odontology, and two infamous cases that forensic odontology helped to reach a conviction of both Ted Bundy and Wayne Boden. Many of the sources used will cover multiple topics, but each topic will be addressed in its own paragraph and each topic will be gone into detail with explanation regarding why each piece of information was provided. Articles that cover the history of odontology will address both the beginnings of odontology and where odontology has come today. Articles covering the technologies of odontology will address how technologies have progressed and the origin of them. Articles containing details on how one may pursue a career in forensic odontology will cover educational requirements and recommendations from experts who have worked in the field for many of years. Articles pertaining to Ted Bundy and his respective case and Wayne Boden and his respective case will delve deep into how odontologists were able to match the two criminals to bite marks left on victims and ultimately convict them of their crimes.

In the article “Giving Faces to the Lost” They explain the Russian method where you build muscles under the skin and the American method where you just put the skin on the skull. I decided to use the American method would be best for this situation. I rebuilt the skin. Then using computer scanning I made many different hairstyles and features so someone can recognize this

Before Samiya and Ingrid did their presentation on forensic odontology I didn’t know much about the topic. But now I know many interesting facts. I learned a lot of the information with other students and myself asking questions.

Similar to the two-dimensional approach, a forensic artist and anthropologist are essential in three-dimensional facial reconstruction (Gupta et al., 2015). Initiating the three-dimensional reconstruction techniques, clay or plastic have been typically used to make replication of skulls (Decker, S., Davy-Jow, S., Faraut, P., Ford, J., Hilbelink, D. & Neville, W., 2013). This clay or plastic replication method still utilizes soft facial tissue depth markers in order to determine landmarks of the face (Nelson, L.A. & Michael, S.D., 1998). In order to create a replication of the face, pieces of clay or plastic is then placed in-between the landmarks that are identified until the face is filled, or close to being filled (Nelson, L.A. & Michael, S.D., 1998). The process of clay or plastic replication producing a three-dimensional approximation of what the individual looks like is outlined in Appendix B.

For decades Forensic Science has been a necessity of determining the story behind the crime scenes presented before them. They tie all evidence together to formulate what happened at the scene and it can be in any circumstance. However, Forensic Scientist are equipped with a multitude of equipment and strategies that help to process the evidence received. Throughout the years, they have advanced magnificently in many aspects. One particular advancement is in the field of technology. The three dimensional facial reconstruction is one advancement that they have succeeded in doing. The method that they previously used was not near as accurate as opposed to now. The procedure is now being done by a computer which has helped with

The next specialized personnel that I would utilize would be that of the sketch artist. This individual is very important to the investigation. The sketch artist is responsible for focusing on facial features as they interview informants, asking them to choose from examples of noses, eyes, mouths, foreheads and chins. Sketching is mostly done by hand, but forensic artists specializing in age progression may use computer graphic programs.