OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee & 

FISWG Update

International Association for Identification (IAI)

Lora Sims

August 3, 2021
OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee

2
OSAC Leadership

3

•Chair, Lora Sims (Ideal Innovations, Inc.)

•Vice Chair, Angie Yankowski (Michigan State 

Police)

•Exec. Sec., Dr. Jane Harris (University of Northern 

Michigan)
OSAC Membership

4

Name Organization

Tom Albright The Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Human Factors Task Group)

Mark Dolfi LA Co Sheriff Dept

Kaitlyn French NCTC

Matthew Graves Defense Forensic Science Center

Steven Johnson Ideal Innovations, Inc. 

Leslie Kelly NCTC

Mark Lancaster Battelle (Statistics Task Group)

Dr. Steven Lee San Jose State University

Allison Miller Biometrics Operations Division

Paul Moody Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

Emily Mullins USG

Lori Nix Georgia Bureau of Investigation (Quality Task Group)

Denell Payne Riverside County Sheriff's Department

Dr. P. Jonathon NIST

Todd Putorti New York State Department of Motor Vehicles

Dr. Kirt Simmons AR Children’s Hospital

Lori Varnell Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office (Legal Task Group)
5

Edward German Macon County Sheriff’s Office

Jodie Linger Federal Bureau of Investigation

Antonio Trindade Dev Technology Group

Neal Gieselman US Government

Krystal Howard Michigan State Police

Carolyn Dutot Canada Border Services Agency

Dr. Netta Lev Tov Chattah Israel National Police

Michael Matheson Department of Foreign Affairs

Campbell McGhee INTERPOL

Reuben Moreton Qumodo

Johanna Morley Metropolitan Police Service

Patricia Moss Australian Passport Office

Ruth Phillips Metropolitan Police Service

Jason Prince Australian Federal Police

Dr. Arnout Ruifrok Netherlands Forensic Institute

Geoff Whitaker UK Home Office

Dr. Caroline Wilkinson Liverpool School of Art and Design

Daniel Ferguson Australian Passport Office

Foreign 

Affiliates

U.S. 

Affiliates
Discipline Description

The Mission of the OSAC Facial Identification Subcommittee is 

to develop consensus standards and guidelines for the 

image-based comparisons of human facial features and to 

provide recommendations for the research and development 

necessary to advance the state of the science.

6

6
7

STRP 

Process

OSAC Final Review

Published as 

Standard or 

Guideline

SDO 

(ASTM)

Approved

& Published

Public 

Communications

Task Group

FI SUB 

COMMITTEE

Terminology & 

Training

Task Group

One-to-One

Task Group

Systems & Capture

Task Group

FISWG

OSAC Open 

Comment 

Period
OSAC Document Tiers – OSAC-wide #’s

8

1

• Documents on 

the OSAC 

Registry

• Approved by 

OSAC – highest 

level of vetting

59

documents

2

• OSAC supported 

standards 

published by an 

SDO

• Completed SDO 

consensus 

process

121

documents

3

• OSAC drafted 

standards sent 

to an SDO

• Drafted with 

input from RC 

and approved by 

SAC

142 

documents

4

• Under 

development

• Working draft 

document inside 

OSAC 

development 

process and not 

yet publicly 

available

173

documents

5

• Proposed

• Not yet drafted

173

documents
OSAC Document Tiers – FI Sub #’s

9

1

• Documents on 

the OSAC 

Registry

• Approved by 

OSAC – highest 

level of vetting

3

documents

2

• OSAC supported 

standards 

published by an 

SDO

• Completed SDO 

consensus 

process

0 (3)

documents

3

• OSAC drafted 

standards sent 

to an SDO

• Drafted with 

input from RC 

and approved by 

SAC

3 

documents

4

• Under 

development

• Working draft 

document inside 

OSAC 

development 

process and not 

yet publicly 

available

15

documents

5

• Proposed

• Not yet drafted

9

documents
10

Tier 1: OSAC 

Registry

• ASTM 3149-18 Standard Guide for 

Facial Image Comparison Feature List 

for Morphological Analysis

• ASTM 3115-18 Capture and 

Equipment Assessment for Face 

Recognition Systems

• ASTM 3148-18 Guidelines for 

Postmortem Facial Image Capture

• Physical Stability of Facial Features of 

Adults (Proposed Standard)
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Tier 2: 

Published by 

SDO

• ASTM 3149-18 Standard Guide for 

Facial Image Comparison Feature List 

for Morphological Analysis

• ASTM 3115-18 Capture and 

Equipment Assessment for Face 

Recognition Systems

• ASTM 3148-18 Guidelines for 

Postmortem Facial Image Capture
12

Tier 3: 

Sent to SDO 

• Standard Guide for Image Based 

Comparison Conclusions (WK74814)*

• Standard Guide for Developing Discipline 

Specific Methodology by ACE-V (WK72441)

• Guidelines for Image Processing to Improve 

Automated Facial Recognition Search 

Performance (WK 74632)

• Guide for Role Based Training in Facial 

Comparison (WK 74817)*

• Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults 

(Proposed Standard)

www.astm.org
13

Tier 4: Under 

Development 

(drafted)

• Effects of a Scanned Image for Facial 

Image Comparison

• Effects of a Printed Image for Facial 

Image Comparison

• Standard Guide for Facial Comparison 

Overview and Methodology 

Guidelines 

• Minimum Guidelines for Facial Image 

Comparison Documentation

• Managing Head Coverings, 

Accessories, and Make-up (HCAM) for 

Booking Photographs
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Tier 4: Under 

Development 

(drafted)

• Minimum Training Criteria When 

Using Facial Recognition Systems

• Guide for Facial Comparison 

Awareness Training of Assessors

• Guide for Facial Comparison Training 

of Reviewers to Competency

• Guide for Facial Comparison Training 

of Examiners to Competency

• Guide for Mentorship of Facial 

Comparison Trainees in Role Based 

Facial Comparison 
Other Work Products

15

•Get approved to publish on OSAC website:

•Technical Guide on EBTS use with Facial 

Identification/Application Profiles (approved)

•Technical Guide on Live FR use (in draft)
Other Work Products

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Research Gaps Identified – as of 20210803

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•Validation of Physical Stability

• Literature review of relevant studies [scientific, medical, academic, and professional] regarding the 

physical stability of the facial features of adults detailed within the current Physical Stability of Facial 

Features of Adults document.

• In addition to the literature review, the conclusions reached based on relevant research should be 

presented to the subcommittee in layman’s terms for incorporation into the document.

•Human Factors in Facial Image Comparison

• Research to determine effective strategies for training in facial comparison and to develop testing 

material.

• Research to validate the methods used by trained examiners to compare faces and establish effective 

case management and bias mitigation strategies.

•Proper Monitor Selection and Setup for Forensic Image Examinations *new*

• Best practices for the selection and calibration of computer monitors to improve and enhance the human 

examiner experience when viewing biometric imagery
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How Can You Get Involved?

Sign up for OSAC 

communications Become an OSAC member

Review and comment 

on documents

Stay informed

https://www.nist.gov/topics/organizationscientific-area-committees-forensicscience/apply-join-osac

https://www.nist.gov/osac

https://service.govdelivery.co

m/accounts/USNIST/subscrib

er/new
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How Can You Get Involved?

Become an OSAC member:

• Full Member

• Affiliate

• STRP Member

• Interdisciplinary Member

https://www.nist.gov/topics/organization-scientific-area-committees-forensic-science/apply-join-osac
Facial Identification Scientific Working Group 

(FISWG)

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FISWG Leadership

21

•Chair, Lora Sims (Ideal Innovations, Inc.)

•Vice Chair, Daniel Heltemes (Arizona DPS)

•Exec. Sec., Krystal Howard (Michigan State 

Police)

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FISWG Membership

22

•90 members

•60 different agencies

•~10 different countries

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OSAC/FISWG relationship

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•FISWG & OSAC work together on development of 

additional standards & guidelines

•FISWG website has many other standards, 

guidelines, best practices, and use cases

•FISWG website contains FAQs regarding the FI 

discipline

•Meets separately from OSAC

•Next FISWG meeting scheduled for October 18-22, 2021,

in Phoenix, AZ

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24

STRP 

Process

OSAC Final Review

Published as 

Standard or 

Guideline

SDO 

(ASTM)

Approved

& Published

Public 

Communications

Task Group

FI SUB 

COMMITTEE

Terminology & 

Training

Task Group

One-to-One

Task Group

Systems & Capture

Task Group

FISWG

OSAC Open 

Comment 

Period
FISWG Documents – finalized

25

•Facial Comparison Overview and Methodology 

Guidelines

•Facial Recognition Systems Guidelines

•Facial Recognition Systems DMV Use Case

•Understanding and Testing for Facial Recognition 

Systems Operation Assurance

•Glossary

•Standard Guide for Scanning Facial Images

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FISWG Documents – finalized

26

•Effects of Printing Methods on Facial Images used for 

Comparisons

•Standard Practice/Guide for Image Processing to 

Improve Automated Facial Recognition Search 

Performance

•Facial Recognition System Metadata Usage

•Minimum Guidelines for Facial Image Comparison

Documentation

•Minimum Training Criteria for Assessors Using Facial 

Recognition Systems

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FISWG Documents – recently finalized

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•Physical Stability of Facial Features of Adults v2.0

•Face Recognition Systems Operation Assurance: 

Identity Ground Truth

•Facial Image Comparison Best Practices for 

Markups and Annotations

•Guide for Facial Comparison Awareness Training 

of Assessors

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FISWG Documents – draft for comment

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•Face Recognition Systems Operation Assurance: 

Image Quality Assessment

•Minimum Training Criteria When Using Facial 

Recognition Systems

•Open for comment until September 30, 2021

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FISWG Application

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•Currently accepting membership applications to 

FISWG 

•Application information can be found at 

www.FISWG.org

•Questions regarding FISWG can be sent to: 

chair@fiswg.org

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THANK YOU!

Lora Sims

Lora.sims@idealinnovations.com