Age Progression
The forensic imaging technique of age progression is used within missing persons cases to provide an insight into a persons appearance many years after their disappearance.
Utilising family photos both past and present as well a knowledge of the effects of aging, forensic artists are able to provide an ‘artists impression’ of youth who have been missing for two years or more and adults who have been missing five years or more. The image created is an approximation of what the person would look like today. This insight not only provides the family and police vital information, it also provides a new avenue in which to seek public attention and publicity.
The NMPCC can facilitate the age progression of imagery for long term missing persons cases in Australia through the services of the AFP Forensic Facial Identification Team. AFP Forensic artists, who are trained and experienced in age progressions, work closely with families and case officers to create an image that best depicts the missing person’s likely appearance. This service, provided by the AFP for families of Australian long term missing person cases, is provided at no charge.
When considering if your loved one should be age progressed, we recommend talking to your case officer to ensure they are supportive and will promote the image once complete.
Where available, photos will need to be supplied by family to AFP Forensics for this work to be carried out, including;
- Images of the missing person prior to their disappearance
- Images of parents from both past and present, especially any images taken around the age the missing person would now be
- Images of any siblings from both past and current, to demonstrate how the missing person’s siblings have aged
For the best results these images will need to be a high quality (large file) digital copy or original prints or negatives that can be scanned at high resolution by AFP Forensics.
Keep in mind that an age progression is an educated artistic impression of what a person might look like and may not look identical to the person in all regards. Variables that may alter a persons appearance may include hair-style, hair colour, make-up, facial hair, weight gain, weight loss and so on.
If you would like to talk more about having your loved one age progressed, please contact us.
