Green Bay police say they were fortunate to get a detailed description of the suspect in a sexual assault on the far west side. An 18-year-old walking near an apartment complex on Packerland Drive was attacked at knifepoint.
The detailed description, police say, was the main reason they created the suspect’'s composite sketch so quickly. They had it out to the public within ten hours of the crime.
Most of the credit for that, police say, goes to a remarkable victim.
“We don’'t expect victims to have that type of recollection all the time, especially if they’'re emotionally traumatized,” Captain Greg Urban said.
Helping them get there even faster though is a computer program called Faces. Used by law enforcement instead of an artist, investigators choose head shapes, eyes, and practically any other facial feature, quickly bringing the victim’'s memory to life.
“If we get a picture that the victim says, ''Yeah that’'s the guy,’' you just can’'t have anything better than that other than a real picture that somebody took of the guy walking down the street,” Urban said.
The program and the final composite is, of course, only as good as its user and only as good as the witness. The speed and ease of the technology gives police something just as important as any physical evidence they may find.
“We don’'t just have a verbal description of the suspect, we have something tangible that people can look at,” Urban said. “It’'s everything. This could make or break the