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The Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science

Facial & Iris Identification Subcommittee

Credit: NIST

The Facial & Iris Identification Subcommittee focuses on standards and guidelines related to the image-based comparisons of human facial and iris features.

Officers | Members | Standards | Other Work Products

Officers

Krystal Howard, Subcommittee Chair, Michigan State Police

Jason Cuddyer, Subcommittee Co-Vice Chair (Facial), Bluemont Technology and Research

Bethany Retton, Subcommittee Co-Vice Chair (Iris), Federal Bureau of Investigation

Thirimachos Bourlai, Subcommittee Executive Secretary, University of Georgia

Members

Jason Chin, University of Sydney, AU Affiliate (Human Factors Task Group affiliate)

Adam Czajk, Academic Researcher University of Notre Dame

Clare Garvie, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (member of OSAC's Legal Task Group)

Matthew Graves, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL)

Daniel Heltemes, Arizona Department of Public Safety

Jimmy Ho, Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department

Steven Johnson, Ideal Innovations, Inc. Advisory Board

Leslie Kelly, U.S. Government

Mark Lancaster, Northern Kentucky University (member of OSAC's Forensic Odontology Subcommittee and Statistics Task Group)

James Matey, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Kelcy McArthur, Michigan State Police

Paul Moody, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office

Heather Murray, Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency

Lori Nix, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (Quality Task Group and Terminology Task Group representative)

Denell Payne, Riverside County Sheriff's Department

Jonathan Phillips, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Krista Rembold, Federal Bureau of Investigation

Blanca Rodriguez, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

Christopher Roeser, Aver, LLC

Kirt Simmons, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Melissa Southern, Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification

Chelcey Tyre, Ideal Innovations, Inc.

Facial & Iris Identification Affiliate List

Standards

On the OSAC Registry

ANSI/ASTM E2916-19e1 Standard Terminology for Digital and Multimedia Evidence Examination (drafted in collaboration with OSAC's Digital Evidence and VITAL Subcommittees, and added to the Registry on July 7, 2020).
ANSI/ASTM E3115-23 Standard Guide for Capturing Facial Images for Use with Facial Recognition Systems (added April 2, 2024). NOTE: This will replace the 2017 version previously on the OSAC Registry.
ANSI/ASTM E3148-18 Standard Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture (added October 1, 2019).
ANSI/ASTM E3149-18 Standard Guide for Facial Image Comparison Feature List for Morphological Analysis (added February 14, 2019).
OSAC 2020-S-0002, Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults (added June 1, 2021 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication).
- NOTE: THIS IS AN ANNEX TO THE PUBLISHED STANDARD, ASTM E3149-18 STANDARD GUIDE FOR FACIAL IMAGE COMPARISON FEATURE LIST FOR MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS.
OSAC 2021-N-0025, Standard Guide for Printing Method Effects on Facial Comparisons (added May 2, 2023 and sent to to ASTM for further development and publication).
OSAC 2021-N-0035, Standard Guide for Scanning Facial Images for Manual Comparisons (added October 4, 2022 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication).
OSAC 2022-S-0001, Standard Guide for Image Comparison Opinions (added June 6, 2023 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication) (Created in collaboration with OSAC's Video/Imaging Technology & Analysis Subcommittee).
OSAC 2022-S-0007, Standard Guide for Facial Comparison Overview and Methodology Guidelines (added December 6, 2022 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication).
OSAC 2022-S-0008, Standard Guide for Minimum Facial Image Comparison Documentation (added February 6, 2024 and sent to ASTM for further development and publication).

Interlaboratory Study on Image Comparison Opinions

NIST recently funded a cooperative agreement to complete an interlaboratory study to assess the practical utility, accuracy and reproducibility of OSAC 2022-S-0001, Standard Guide for Image Comparison Opinions.

Thank you to those that registered for this interlaboratory study. The project team will be in touch by mid-end May with instructions on how to complete your image comparisons.

At an SDO for Further Development & Publication

OSAC 2021-N-0025, Standard Guide for Printing Method Effects on Facial Comparisons (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
OSAC 2021-N-0035, Standard Guide for Scanning Facial Images for Manual Comparisons (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
OSAC 2020-S-0002, Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
OSAC 2022-S-0007, Standard Guide for Facial Comparison Overview and Methodology Guidelines (OSAC Proposed Standard on the Registry).
REVISION to ASTM E3148 Standard Guide for Postmortem Facial Image Capture.
Guidelines for Image Processing to Improve Automated Facial Recognition Search Performance.

Under Development

OSAC 2023-N-0007, Guide for Facial Comparison Awareness Training of Assessors.
OSAC 2023-N-0008, Guide for Facial Comparison Training of Reviewers to Competency.
OSAC 2023-N-0009, Guide for Facial Comparison Training of Examiners to Competency.
Physical Stability of Facial Features of Juveniles (Note: This is an annex to the Facial Image Comparison Feature List for Morphological Analysis, not a stand-alone document).
Image Factors to Consider in Facial Comparison.
Standard Guide for Capturing Iris Images for Use with Iris Recognition Systems.
Standard Guide for Minimum Training Recommendations of Iris Image Examiners.
Introduction to Application Profiles for Facial Searching.
Guide for Role Based Training in Facial Comparison.
Guide for Mentorship of Facial Comparison Trainees in Role Based Facial Comparison.
Guide for Proficiency Testing in Role Based Facial Comparison.
Minimum Training Criteria for Usage of Facial Recognition Systems.
Managing Head Coverings, Accessories, and Make-up (HCAM) for Booking Photographs (Note: This will be an annex to ASTM E3117).
Facial Identification-Specific ACE-V.

Other Work Products

Research & Development Needs

See the research and development needs identified by the Facial & Iris Identification Subcommittee.

Technical Guidance Documents

Framework for Implementing Passive Live Facial Recognition, January 2024.
Introduction to Application Profiles for Facial Searching, October 2023.

Webinars, Presentations & Training Videos

OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee Updates, International Association for Identification (IAI) Educational Conference, August 2021.
OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee Updates, IAI Conference, August 2019.
OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee Updates, IAI Conference, August 2018.

Discipline-Specific Bibliographies and Bibliographic References

These documents may contain information to help forensic scientists, judges, lawyers, researchers, and other readers better understand the nature, scope, and foundations of the individual disciplines as currently practiced. The identification of these documents does not represent an endorsement by OSAC or NIST. Only standards that are posted on the OSAC Registry and Technical Guidance documents, are endorsed by OSAC. The referenced documents may be subject to copyright. Note: Subcommittee position statements or responses to data collections by the subcommittee do not necessarily represent the position of OSAC or NIST.

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Created October 18, 2023, Updated April 22, 2024