FISWG
Definition
The Facial Identification Scientific Working Group, a US-originated but internationally engaged body that produced guidelines for forensic facial comparison, including a standardised methodology and conclusion vocabulary.
- Full name
- Facial Identification Scientific Working Group
- Origin
- United States, internationally engaged
- Output
- Guidelines for forensic facial comparison
- Includes
- Standardised methodology and conclusion vocabulary
Common questions
Why does a standardised conclusion vocabulary matter for facial comparison?+
Before shared terminology, examiners described the strength of a facial match in inconsistent, subjective language. FISWG's controlled vocabulary lets courts and other examiners interpret a stated conclusion the same way across cases and laboratories.
Does FISWG certify individual examiners?+
FISWG's role is producing methodology and terminology guidance for the discipline, not operating a personal certification scheme; individual accreditation and proficiency testing are handled through separate laboratory and professional bodies.
Related terms
- Conclusion Scale
- The structured verbal scale recommended by FISWG, ranging from Exclusion through Inconclusive to Identification, used to communicate the weight of facial comparison...
- Facial Mapping
- The term used primarily in the UK and Australia for the forensic comparison of facial images. Now largely superseded in international literature...
- Holistic Assessment
- Evaluation of the face as an integrated whole rather than as a sum of parts, drawing on the examiner's trained perceptual processing...
- Morphological Analysis
- The systematic comparison of qualitative facial feature shapes from a standardised feature list; the primary method in ENFSI BPM facial image comparison,...
- Photo-Anthropometric Overlay
- A technique that aligns and scales two facial images and computes proportional distances between anatomical landmarks, used when direct feature comparison is...