Reply to Lucas & Henneberg: Are human faces unique?. (April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Meester, Ronald; Preneel, Bart; Wenmackers, Sylvia
• Is Part Of: Forensic science international. Volume 297(2019)
• Page Start: 217
• Page End: 220
• Publication Date: 2019-04
• Subjects: Facial recognition -- Forensics -- Match probability -- Video surveillance; Medical jurisprudence -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Forensic -- Periodicals; Forensic Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine légale -- Périodiques; Chimie légale -- Périodiques; Gerechtelijke geneeskunde; Gerechtelijke chemie; Gerechtelijke psychiatrie; Chemistry, Forensic; Medical jurisprudence; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 614.1
• DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.01.038
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0379-0738

Abstract

Highlights: Claims regarding match probabilities require an underlying probabilistic model, well-supported by other scientific theories. The claim that metric identification of faces is as reliable as that of DNA is not supported. We remind the reader that the probability for there to be a match in a population is not linear with the population size. Abstract: This paper offers a response to the 2015 article of Lucas and Henneberg "Are human faces unique?" (Forensic Sci. Int. 257, 514.e1–514.e6), as well as to the subsequent popularization thereof. In the first part, we assess the probabilistic claims made by the authors and find crucial parts to be unsupported. In particular, the authors offer no probabilistic model on which to base their conclusions. Even if we disregard the errors identified in the first part, we find a troubling discrepancy between the published findings and the popular summary.