This police force released the worst e-fit of all time and people completely lost it
- Posted by
- Emily Reynolds
- Published
E-fits – pictures the police create and release to help identify the perpetrators of crime – are not always great, often appearing more “neural network has been fed exclusively images of clowns and spat out what it thinks a human being might look like” than “this is a real person who has committed a crime please help us find him”.
Exhibit A:
Police in Doncaster have released an e-fit image of a suspect after 40-year-old man was robbed in the Wheatley Hills area earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/164BxX1ELC
— BBC Radio Sheffield (@BBCSheffield) March 23, 2018
Exhibit B:
#EFIT of a Male #Police wish to speak to in relation to an attempt #Robbery of a 14 year old boy in the Cunliffe Road area of #Bradford @WestYorksPolice @CrimestoppersUK #DoYouKnowHim #Suspect ☎️ 101 https://t.co/VEBxjYbMMb pic.twitter.com/kMFLhcO1x7
— Police - Regional Forensics (@RSSS_HQ) March 9, 2018
Which brings us to this, from Warwickshire Police.
We've issued an efit for of a suspect in a distraction burglary in Stratford in February. If you have any information please contact us. https://t.co/NipFniL1ed pic.twitter.com/oGiYfxIi2e
— Warwickshire Police (@warkspolice) April 3, 2018
At first, we thought, it had to be a parody. Surely this is not a real e-fit designed to catch a real criminal. Surely someone along the presumably fairly rigorous process of creating and sharing e-fits would have said, like, “we should probably make this dude’s mouth smaller, guys, because right now he looks a bit…off”.
But look closer, and you’ll see that it’s a blue-tick verified account: a real, actual account run by the police force.
Obviously, because it is ridiculous on literally every level, people kind of went in.
"Could you describe the burglar?" "So you know Henry J. Waternoose the third from Monsters Inc.? He looked like that" https://t.co/srNjTy6J3P
— Boubacar Bamsey (@ryan_bamz) April 3, 2018
— I'm an Englishman (@freedoom_79) April 3, 2018
Did he have a dog? pic.twitter.com/XuM9nVYZF6
— Gammon Feel The Noize.. (@TheStalker3324) April 3, 2018
Yeah pic.twitter.com/tQSv9ILoU0
— Pops (@____POPS____) April 3, 2018
— Kate (@erstkate) April 3, 2018
— Bullshire Police (@BullshirePolice) April 3, 2018
"distraction burglary" - I can see how that happened
— Simon Detheridge (@GibletHead2000) April 3, 2018
Fixed it. pic.twitter.com/Jm5Bd2Y8Sv
— 20th Century Flicks (@20thCFlicks) April 3, 2018
Now if you don’t mind us, we’re off to have our every waking nightmare populated by e-fit men with giant mouths! Night!
(Image: Warwickshire Police)