Behind The Scenes With John Walsh: FACES

5/31/2011

In 1998, police in South Florida were on the hunt for an unknown suspect they believed to be responsible for a string of brutal attacks and attempted abductions of several girls and young women.

AMW featured this story, including a composite sketch created with a technology newly available to cops at the time, called FACES. Not long after broadcast, a viewer had recognized the perpetrator from the police sketch as her own son and immediately contacted authorities, resulting in the arrest of the suspect.

As John Walsh states, the sketch resulted in a "home run, the first time we used it on the show."

John recently spoke to Bill Scigliano, the man responsible for FACES, about the positive impact it has had on crimefighting.

The software has been helpful to all levels of law enforcment, and now a version of the program is available as game on AMW.com.

"We all have an important role in fighting crime," says Bill, and this game helps "teach you to be more aware of your surroundings."

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