People who want to work as police sketch artists should get an art education as well as training in interview techniques so they can interact with witnesses and other people who can help with identifications. Some people may choose to pursue professional certification, which requires them to meet very specific training requirements as well as pass an examination. People interested in this field should consider attending forensics-focused colleges and universities, as they can provide more training opportunities for someone who wants to work as a police sketch artist.
A police sketch artist’s most common task is to interview a witness in order to create a composite drawing that approximates the appearance of a suspect. This drawing can be used in an investigation and made public in information requests. Documenting crime scenes, assisting people in turning skeletal remains into composite drawings of what a person might have looked like in life, and age progression to show what someone might look like as an older person are all examples of the work.
People with excellent drawing skills were required to work in this field in the past. A person who wants to work as a police sketch artist today must be computer literate. While some artists still sketch hand, many more rely on computer programs to complete their work. To use a program to generate a credible likeness of a person, people must be comfortable with drawing tablets and similar tools.
This job also necessitates excellent communication abilities. A person who wants to work as a police sketch artist must be able to extract identifying information from a subject without pressuring them into making false or inaccurate statements. This includes learning how to question people without asking leading questions and working with emotionally distressed people. This aspect of the job can be aided taking psychology and communications classes.
A person pursuing a career as a police sketch artist may want to look into internship opportunities to gain experience working on real cases under the supervision of a professional. This can provide an opportunity to learn from people with years of experience while also assisting an artist in beginning to build a portfolio. The portfolio is important for job applications because law enforcement agencies want to see a record of someone’s work, with a focus on drawings that have resulted in successful case closures, whether they are facial reconstructions from remains or classic composites of suspects and persons of interest.