Description
Create composite sketches, facial reconstructions, age progressions, and other investigative artwork to aid law enforcement, using traditional and digital techniques and adhering to evidentiary standards.
- • Adhere to chain-of-custody, evidentiary, and privacy requirements.
- • Interview victims and witnesses to elicit detailed facial descriptions using cognitive techniques.
- • Produce hand-drawn or software-generated composite sketches from interviews.
- • Create age-progressed and age-regressed images for missing and unidentified persons.
- • Develop 2D facial reconstructions from skull photographs and autopsy data.
- • Sculpt 3D facial approximations from skulls using clay and tissue-depth markers.
- • Enhance and clarify still images from surveillance or body-worn cameras for identification.
- • Retouch and normalize postmortem photographs for public release and comparison.
- • Compare facial features across images to assess similarity and inform leads.
- • Collaborate with detectives, medical examiners, anthropologists, and prosecutors on case objectives.
- • Prepare investigative bulletins, BOLO posters, wanted notices, and lineup materials.
- • Present and explain artwork, findings, and limitations to investigators and stakeholders.
- • Revise images based on feedback while preserving originals and audit trails.
- • Maintain case files, portfolios, and metadata documenting sources, methods, and versions.
- • Testify in court as an expert on methods, processes, and results when required.
- • Coordinate media releases with public information officers and obtain appropriate consents.
- • Photograph subjects, remains, or evidence for reference under controlled lighting.
- • Calibrate monitors, printers, and color profiles to ensure accurate reproduction.
- • Research cultural, anatomical, and demographic traits to improve accuracy.
- • Stay current on forensic art standards, software, and case law through training.
- • Estimate timelines and material costs; plan and prioritize caseloads with supervisors.
- • Travel to scenes, hospitals, or facilities to conduct on-site interviews or documentation.
- • Create maps, diagrams, and scene sketches to support investigative narratives.
- • Collaborate with facial recognition and video analysts to integrate findings.
- • Securely store and back up digital files in compliance with agency policy.
- • Prepare exhibits and displays for briefings, press conferences, and community outreach.
- • Provide training or demonstrations on forensic art to officers and community groups.
- • Apply trauma-informed and culturally sensitive practices when working with families and witnesses.
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Related Pathways
Arts, Entertainment, & Design
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
