EvoFIT composite face construction via practitioner interviewing and a witness-administered protocol

Police require reliable facial-composite systems to help identify, arrest and convict criminals. Recent developments, however, have allowed newer versions of the EvoFIT composite system to be made available for policing. The outcome is an online (cloud-based) version and a new system called Witness At Home, both using a simpler interface. Here, we formally compare these two versions to establish potential benefits to policing. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, participants observed a target identity for 1 minute and returned 4 hours (Witness At Home) or 24 hours (EvoFIT Online) to construct a composite from memory. No significant difference in composite accuracy was found. In Experiment 2, participants constructed a composite, 24-hours after seeing a target identity, using either EvoFIT Online or Witness At Home. A significant increase in accurate identification was found for EvoFIT Online, with some utility for the self-administered procedure, together indicating benefit for these newer systems plus some areas for development

Mindfulness in Face Recognition: Embedding mindfulness instructions in the face-composite construction process

Meditative mindfulness practices, promoting sustained attention and reducing mind-wandering, have been associated with improvements in cognitive abilities and memory. The present study explored whether a non-meditative practice could be successfully applied in a forensic application; specifically, whether mindfulness instructions can be embedded in the face-composite construction process to facilitate identification. Twenty participants, who were not football fans, were asked to memorise an unfamiliar footballer’s face and return 24 hours later to construct a face using the self-administered EvoFIT facial composite system. In the experimental condition, mindfulness instructions were embedded in the EvoFIT system, encouraging witnesses to focus on the target face and the process; in the control condition, participants constructed the face using the standard EvoFIT system. Naming of the composites was attempted by 24 football fans, who each viewed 10 composites, five from each condition, and then the target footballer images to ensure they were familiar with the identities. Results showed significantly higher levels of correct naming for composites constructed using EvoFIT with mindfulness instructions compared to using the standard EvoFIT. These findings indicate the potential for non-meditative mindfulness instructions to assist face-composite construction, improving correct naming of ensuing composites

The importance of detailed context reinstatement for the production of identifiable composite faces from memory

Memory is facilitated by reflecting upon, or revisiting, the environment in which information was encoded. We investigated these “context reinstatement” (CR) techniques to improve the effectiveness of facial composites – visual likenesses of a perpetrator’s face constructed by eyewitnesses. Participant-constructors viewed a face and, after a one-day-delay, revisited (Physical CR) or recalled the environmental context (Mental/Detailed CR) before recalling the face and constructing an EvoFIT or a PRO-fit composite. Detailed CR increased correct naming of ensuing composites, but only when participant-constructors suitably encoded the environment. Detailed CR was also effective when combined with another interviewing technique (Holistic-Cognitive Interview), with focus on a target’s character; it was no more effective prompting constructors to engage in greater environmental recall. Analyses indicate that the Detailed CR advantage was mediated by an increase in face recall. Results are applicable by forensic practitioners to aid eyewitness memory, thereby potentially increasing suspect identification and subsequent arrest rates

The impact of physical and mental reinstatement of context on the identifiability of facial composites

Numerous studies demonstrate that memory recall is improved by reflecting upon, or revisiting, the environment in which information to-be-recalled was encoded. The current thesis sought to apply these ‘context reinstatement’ (CR) techniques in an attempt to improve the effectiveness of facial composites—likenesses of perpetrators constructed by witnesses and victims of crime. Participant-constructors were shown an unfamiliar target face in an unfamiliar environment (e.g., an unknown café). The following day, participants either revisited the environment (physical context reinstatement) or recalled the environmental context in detail along with their psychological state at the time (mental context reinstatement, Detailed CR); they then freely recalled the face and constructed a facial composite using a holistic (EvoFIT) or a feature system (PRO-fit). Over the course of five experiments and meta-analyses, Detailed CR of the environmental context was effective at increasing correct naming and likeness ratings of ensuing composites. The size of the advantage for Detailed CR was dependent on the extent to which the environment had been encoded: the advantage was (i) variable for incidental encoding (Experiments 1-3) with an overall small effect size (ES) (assessed by meta-analysis), (ii) best (very large ES) under intentional encoding (Experiment 3) and (iii) intermediate (large ES) for incidental encoding when participants were encouraged to engage naturally with the environment (Experiment 4). Detailed CR was also found to be effective when combined with a specific interviewing technique (Holistic-Cognitive Interview) where constructors focused on the target’s character; it was no more effective when constructors were prompted to recall the environment in greater detail. Further analyses (Meta-analyses) and additional data (Experiment 5) indicate that the advantage of Detailed CR was mediated by an increase in constructor’s total face recall. Results are interpreted in terms of the encoding specificity principle and can be applied by forensic practitioners who use feature and recognition systems.. This thesis is the first to reveal that context cues can be implemented effectively during forensic face construction using modern composite systems

Optimising EvoFIT by Reducing the Number of Faces Shown during Composite Construction

The creation of EvoFIT facial composite images enables perpetrators of crime to be identified and subsequently detained. It is therefore important to ensure that the composite construction procedure is optimised to create the most recognisable images possible. During the creation of a facial composite, eyewitnesses view and compare many images of facial shapes and textures to select those which best resemble the perpetrator. However, viewing many images may overwhelm witness working memory, resulting in cognitive overload and resultant memory capacity and decisionmaking deficits. Yet, there is currently no literature exploring the impact of cognitive load during composite construction. This thesis aims to bridge this gap in the literature by investigating the impact of cognitive load during EvoFIT construction and to investigate the importance of face Shape and Texture for composite construction to further optimise the construction procedure. In five experiments, composite images created using different population sizes to manipulate the cognitive load during the construction procedure were assessed for likeness through composite naming and likeness ratings. The results demonstrated that reducing cognitive load during the construction procedure by decreasing the population size and, therefore, displaying fewer face images to participants, was beneficial for composite likeness. Moreover, reducing the population size for selection of the face shape was particularly important, indicating that face Shape plays a more important role than face Texture in the creation of a recognisable EvoFIT facial composite. Overall, this thesis demonstrates the benefits of reducing cognitive load during EvoFIT composite construction, particularly for selection of the face shape, and develops a theoretically informed construction procedure to increase the number of criminals identified through EvoFIT facial composites

Reevaluating the role of verbalisation of faces for composite production: Descriptions of offenders matter!

Standard forensic practice necessitates that a witness describes an offender’s face prior to constructing a visual likeness, a facial composite. However, describing a face can interfere with face recognition, although a delay between description and recognition theoretically should alleviate this issue. In Experiment 1, participants produced a free recall description either 3-4 hours or 2 days after intentionally or incidentally encoding a target face, and then constructed a composite using a modern ‘feature’ system immediately or after 30-minutes. Unexpectedly, correct naming of composites significantly reduced following the 30-minute delay between description and construction for targets encoded 2 days previously. In, Experiment 2, participants in these conditions gave descriptions that were better matched to their targets by independent judges, a result which suggests that the 30-minute delay actually impairs access to details of recalled descriptions that are valuable for composite effectiveness. Experiment 3 found the detrimental effect of description delay extended to composites constructed from a ‘holistic’ face production system. The results have real-world but counterintuitive implications for witnesses who construct a face one or two days after a crime: after having recalled the face to a practitioner, an appreciable delay (here, 30 minutes) should be avoided before starting face construction