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4PoliceOfficer Larry Green puts together ‘suspect’ picture.By PHILHERTERNews-Record Staff WriterThe $1,500 robbery at Rockingham Savings and Loan Association Thursday gave Harrisonburg police their first opportunity to use a kit with which officers can put together a suspect’s likeness from descriptions given by witnesses.There have been two other armed robberies in Harrisonburg since the police department obtained the kit in August — one at the 7-Eleven store on Reservoir Street and the other at a gasoline station on Mason Street. But in both cases, the robbers were too well masked to permit a reliable description.In Thursday’s robbery the gunman’sonly disguise was sunglasses and a hood.There are 457 sheets of clear plastic in the kit, each bearing a different facial characteristic. By selecting the proper chin line, the right set of eyes, the correct hairline, and even the proper hat or glasses, police can recreate a suspect’s likeness.If the crime is serious enough, and the suspect is well-traveled enough, police can build a code from numbers on each of the 5Vi-by4-inch pieces of plastic and send it anywhere in the world. Police departments with the kit can then recreate the likeness from the code.Harrisonburg officers Larry W. Green and Duane E. Fairweather attended a three-day school in Quantico during mid-August to learn to use the kit. They recently reconstructed the face of two persons described by a News-Record reporter.First the officer obtains from the witness or victim a description of the suspect’s general characteristics — his height, build, race, sex, age group and whether he wears glasses or a beard.11itSketchesSuspectsWith the aid of a chart prepared by the kit manufacturer, the officer then builds a picture which presents the “average” image of the person described. A suspect described as being 40 would be given some age lines, for example, and a suspect described as heavy would receive sagging jowls.Each of the plastic sheets is locked in a metal case. For a suspect with a high forehead, the sheet bearing his hairline would be moved upward within the case, while the hairline would be moved downward for a suspect with a low brow. Other facial characteristics also can be moved up or down as necessary.Once the “average” likeness is completed, the officer shows the picture to the witness and asks what needs to be changed. At that point, the real work of building a reliable likeness begins.The witness takes a close look at each feature and changes what appears to be amiss by selecting a different nose, chinline, eyes or hairstyle. The whole process can take anywhere from a half-hour to several hours.If necessary, the officer can alter characteristics with a black grease pencil. For example, if the kit does not contain the exact mustabhe desired, the policemen can make it longer or bushier with the grease pencil.In addition, less prominent features are placed at the bottom of the pile. The plastic sheets toward the top make them less noticeable.Although the kit is useful, Officer Green cautioned that it is nearly impossible to get an exact likeness of the suspect. But it is close enough to eliminate all but two or three persons out of a group of 50 suspects, he said.He added that the instructor told himand Officer Fairweather they should be happy to get a picture which the witness considers 75 per cent accurate.Officer Green explained that the accuracy of the picture depends on three variables: the skill of the policeman, whether the witness got a good look at the suspect and the facial characteristics of the suspect.The face of a suspect with prominent features, such as a beard or large nose, may be easier to compose than the face of a person with less striking characteristics, he elaborated.The first effort by the News-Record reporter to describe a “suspect” was less than successful. It took over two hours to come up with even a remotely satisfactory composition, and then the wife of the man described failed to recognize what wassupposed to be her husband’s likeness.The second try, however, took only a half-hour and produced a highly recognizable likeness.The kit, from which 62 billion different faces can be constructed, is not for sale. The Harrisonburg Police Department rents it for $180 a year, Officer Green said. The rent includes updating to keep pace with changing hairstyles and research into different types of facial structure.Kits made by other companies are for sale, but their prices, which do not include updating, are prohibitive for small police departments, Officer Green said.Captain Richard Presgrave of the Harrisonburg Police Department explained that the kit is one of the few in the area and will be available to nearby law enforcement agencies when they need it.Police sketch of ‘suspect.’‘Suspect’ Allen Litten.
Newspaper Details
Daily News-Record
Harrisonburg, Virginia, US
Sat, Nov 23, 1974
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
Mackenzie E.
USA 09 Sep 2022
Other Publications Near Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg Republican
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Harrisonburg Evening News
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