NCJ Number
192043
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 46 Issue: 6 Dated: November 2001 Pages: 1438-1441
Date Published
November 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper presents three contrasting case studies from southern Florida to illustrate the use of conventional anthropometry in determining the identity of suspects.
Abstract
With the increasing commercial use of video surveillance to deter crime, physical anthropologists are becoming more involved in the forensic identification of persons based on photographic evidence. Human identification from photographic evidence is a component of forensic photography in which anthropologists can provide assessments of various anthropometric characteristics. Standardized methods have recently been established for these procedures. In each of the three cases examined in this study, an arrested suspect and a subject videotaped during the commission of a crime were compared with respect to a series of discrete cranio-facial and post-cranial proportions. Each case analysis was supplemented by additional data on earlobe structure, head and facial hair patterns, degree of chin eminence, presence or absence of tattoos, and various aspects of bodily dimensions and physique, including height and weight estimations. These case examples highlight the types of problems that might be encountered during the process of human identification from photographic sources. The fact that the correlation test results reported in this study did not conform more closely with the legal outcomes of the cases should stimulate further research on these methodological issues and ultimately lead to additional, equally effective applications of anthropological techniques and data analyses in the investigation and deterrence of criminal activity. 3 tables and 35 references