Drawing on memory: exploring the expertise of a police artist

The use by the police of artists to draw likenesses of suspects is on the increase, yet there are few studies of their professional prowess. In the current study, art students observed one of six target faces before either drawing a likeness of the person themselves or collaborating with an experienced police artist. The likenesses produced by the police artist were judged as consistently superior to those made by the students, despite the artist working indirectly from the witnesses' verbal directions. Instructions to judge the target face in terms of likely character and personality led to better drawings than instruction to examine physical features when students worked with the artist but not when they drew on their own. These findings are discussed in terms of police practice and face processing theory.