Composite Sketching in the 1980s

Presenter: Quincee Garcia

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 20-21

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Anne-Louise Dierkes

Department: Art

Funding Source/Sponsor: SYRCE Symposium

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1oh2jvbMWhcGVX_DKBeCVK0Cxd2NCJ9wO

Abstract:
In the United States of America in the 1980's there was a notable rise in crime, a lot of which has been attributed to serial killers by people of our current decade. The rise in popularity and fascination has lead people to analyze the different aspect of detective work. My presentation goes over one of the key elements to all policing and an attribute of three popular killers captures: composite sketching. Though new technology came out in the 1980's in Great Britain that would show to be a true contender to the classic art of police sketching, composite sketching would still hold true when tested again three prolific killers of the 1980's decade.

Poster Text:

How It's Done 

Composite sketching is a common practice among all police departments that has lead to the capture of many deadly criminals over the decades, but most notably the 1980s. As demonstrated in the video created by the CBC News Channel alongside the Saskatoon police department, composite sketching is the process of someone, whether that be a victim or witness, giving a description of the person they saw while the sketch artist draws to the best of their knowledge, alongside their understanding of human anatomy. This technology has been a long used practice but has always been questioned because of its unreliable nature. As will be shown in this presentation, some sketches lead directly to the criminal, and other times the sketches turns out to be completely sporadic. As many of the technologies used by police developed in the 80s, composite sketching still rains true today. 

Photokit and Identikit 

Photokit and Identikit were new to the field of crime scene investigation in the year 1982, being created in Great Britain. These are programs that began as hard copy books in which the victim or witness would chose features from a lineup of different features and police would compile these together to create a likeness. This process would later be moved to online applications such as seen photographed above. As demonstrated in the study Capturing Likeness in Eyewitness Composites: The Police Artist and His Rivals conducted by Graham Davies, Identikit and Photokit were found to be more reliable resources in creating accurate depictions of the criminals at large. While this is true, Identikit and Photokit would not take hold in the United States because of the reliability seen with composite sketches, such as the case of the Night Stalker and the Unabomber. 

The Night Stalker 

The Night Stalker, who would later be found to be Richard Ramierez, was a serial killer and rapist who stalked the streets of  central and southern California. He would notoriously climb in through unlocked windows and stare right into the face of his victims, which is how his infamous composite sketch would come into existence. He was already on the police radar with having multiple traffic violations but would ultimately be taken into custody because of his resemblance to the police sketch and victim descriptions. This is an example of the success that can be seen and is still seen today with police composite sketches. 

The Unabomber 

As attributed to Davies study, the Unabomber case is one in which the composite sketch did nothing but hold back the investigation. Ted Kaczynski was a delusional man who planted bombs in the environments of people he believed were part of the revolution in technology development, which he believed would be the ultimate downfall of all humanity. When comparing the sketch and actual photos of Kaczynski, the only similarity seen is in the nose. This caused controversy in the departments and led to the arrival of some Identikit and Photokits in America. While the kits never did take hold in departments across America, they did attribute to composite artists development as they did begin using some of these tactics to create their sketches. 

The "Coast-to-Coast" Killer 

Tommy Lynn Sells tortured police departments all across the United States as he attacked young women in most states, taking interstates from one coast to the other. He is known for his famous police sketch that resembles him almost exactly, which led to his arrest 24 hours after his final victim. He was stopped for a traffic violation and the officer recognized him from the sketch, bringing him in and eventually booking him on the murder of 22 people. 

His case is the largest advocate for police composite sketching done by an artist. People argue that the artists sketching brings an element of personality that Photokit and Identikit are unable to provide.