Show s‘7“-r- ol ACrff PAJUC MAtR twu srrfc- T- ouvr SP&kSH‘TAH ' HAi Am 6 4 $f StntSifi Cg $HtLf iHITtALI 5 Tfi n ccnPttxm-SoF- f $mt IMlSi: rwcsff (HlTlALS a U&AHtTfi UCrHTt ft fw6 at scene Chicago policeman-arfl- st Al Valanis drew this sketch of a criminal L1 In real life rp Jhe it’s the public “bandit queen” of a large Midwest city returned to the scene of her crimes believing her dyed hair reshaped nose and heavy makeup were effective disguises Yet one glance by two passing detectives roused their suspicion “Walks like her” one said “but doesn’t look like her Let’s look closer” The closer look was all they needed Within seconds a dangerous criminal was handcuffed her disguise uncovered The detectives had made use of simple but irreplaceable tools of their profession — close observation and good memory The bandit queen they recalled had been described as having three moles on her face obvious identifying marks she had failed to disguise That eye CifasBl WILLIAM F McDERMOTT it takes a little training not the private eye that spots Scions— but was what had attracted the detectives’ attention In another city a attendant was murdered early one morning at his job Five patrons told police a dark-eye- d man bushy-haire- d had visited the station shortly before the killing From their descriptions a police drtist drew a composite sketch emphasizing the unusual hair and eyes of the suspect Copies of the sketch were distributed widely gas-stati- on Two months later another attendant remem- gas-stati- commander of Chicago crime lab MLS l¥i 1 DY Valanis (right) shows sketch to Lt John Ascher on bered the sketch while serving a motorcyclist The customer had bushy hair and dark eyes The attendant called police then stalled the customer with talk about motorcycles It was a good hunch on the attendant’s part leading to the cyclist’s arrest confession and conviction The two cases illustrate a recent trend in crime detection Descriptions of wanted persons no longer center on statistics like height weight or build but on more readily observable features — a scar distorted mouth freckles lantern jaw heavy eyebrow's Police artists draw likenesses of the wanted persons making the striking characteristics bold in their sketches These drawings are distributed to thousands of private citizens who may come in contact with the criminal Should they actually meet the fugitive the first characteristics they’ll notice are the ones brought out by the artist’s sketch That’s usually enough to trigger their memories and them with a name place or Valanis’ sketch helped catch Thomas F Schwartz who confessed to crime put police on the crook's trail The idea is termed "mental photography” but it’s actualtrick ly a thought-associatiused for years by politicians businessmen and hostesses to remember names and faces Such memory gimmicks can become increasingly important in criminal investigation if all citizens develop a basic understanding of the technique and use it You can develop your “mental photography” by practicing on people you know and meet Snap mental pictures of their most striking characteristics and associate on situation After this training if you should be a witness to a crime you’ll find it easy to spot the marks that set the criminal apart from everyone else In most cities police have artists who can turn your verbal description into a sketch others will also re- member easily Police officials agree they’d trade most of the scientific gadgets in their laboratories for one reliable witness but unfortunately many witnesses fail to observe the important details around them Perhaps by alerting citizens to the proved techniques of “mental photography” we can correct that shortcoming and help brand criminals in simple unmistakable terms they can never escape Family Weekly Magazine July 22 1956 |