TACOMA, Wash.– Pierce County Sheriff’s Department is testing MorphoFace, a high-tech computer software program that checks surveillance photos from crime scenes against mug shots of potential suspects.  So far deputies have made two arrests.

How it works

• A suspect’s image is uploaded onto a computer.

• The software uses algorithms to reconstruct the suspect’s “face.”

• The program starts by measuring the distance between a person’s eyes, which are a similar distance apart on most faces. From there, the program builds the rest of the face, recognizing patterns in faces that are unique from one individual to another.

• The program then searches the database for other faces with similar patterns.

• A candidate list is returned. A forensic technician looks at the specifics – the size of the ears, curve of the lips, location of freckles – to determine whether it’s a match.