Specialist Services

On some occasions the appearance of a suspect/accused may include a distinctive feature. Under these circumstances it may be necessary to obscure a feature on the suspect (or accused) and also the volunteers to avoid the distinctive feature effecting the outcome of the parade. Alternatively it may be more appropriate to replicate a feature in a similar way from the suspects appearance onto the volunteers to achieve a suitable outcome.

This involves the preparation of what are known as non standard parades. Non standard parades require high levels of image editing skill to combine different facial features onto a single appearance to achieve a realistic result. Alternatively features can also be obscured with a mosaic to cover up scars, tattoos and blemishes. For example these are placed across the suspect/accused and volunteers images. The use of replicated features and mosaicing is supported by PACE and the Lord Advocates Guidelines. This provides a valuable tool for the police which allow them to conduct parades for people with very specific appearances which would otherwise be impossible.