TECHNOLOGY : Infotec Draws on Computer Program to Identify Criminals

Infotec Development in Santa Ana says its law enforcement software programs have begun to pay off in solving criminal cases.

Authorities in Washington arrested a suspect in the so-called “shotgun stalker” case in which an armed man terrorized a neighborhood by picking victims at random. Despite an intense manhunt, the suspect eluded arrest for two months.

The FBI used Infotec’s FaceKit and PhotoSketch software to create a composite drawing of the suspect, based on witnesses’ observations, on a computer and distributed the sketch to area newspapers.

After the arrest, Fred Thomas, chief of police in the District of Columbia, said the suspect closely resembled the composite drawing.

The Santa Ana Police Department since November has used the same system that the FBI used to create the composite of the “shotgun stalker.” Officers use a computer mouse to add more hair or change other facial features on a sketch from an FBI library of 1,000 facial features stored on computer. Suspect photos can be digitally “aged” if the crime is several years old.

“I’m just a cop, and can’t draw stick figures, but this program is so user-friendly,” said Santa Ana Police Detective Frank Stastny. “It’s a fantastic piece of equipment.”

Stastny said he has created about 10 composite sketches so far, but isn’t aware of any particular crimes that have been solved with the programs.

Infotec, a computer services and defense engineering company, acquired the software when it bought QMA Corp. in McLean, Va., for an undisclosed price last July. The software is also used to make computerized sketches of missing children.