‘Super-recogniser’ who solved the UK’s coldest cases reveals who he wants to find next

He is part of the 1% of the population who can never forget a face.

One of UK’s top ‘super-recognisers’ who has helped identify 20,000 people has revealed who he wants to find next.

Mike Neville, an ex-detective at the Metropolitan Police, is part of 1% of the country’s population who are never able to forget a face.

His skills have helped identify people in nearly 20,000 cases, including the victims of the Hillsborough disaster and those responsible for the 2011 London riots.

‘Super-recognisers are automatically able to see past features which change, like weight and hair,’ Mike told Metro.

‘The recognition comes from facial features, like the nose, eyes and lips.’

Mike’s particular set of skills inspired him to push police into creating a database of of unidentified criminals captured on CCTV like there is for fingerprints.

This meant he and his team could access a whole set of imagery, and help spot criminals and those who were missing.

They scoured 2,000 hours worth of footage from the London riots in 2011 and helped identify 4,000 suspects.

Following his work on the riots, Mike discussed what he found with Professor Josh Davis, a psychologist at the University of Greenwich, and the pair realised some officers have an extraordinary ability for face recognition.

A year later, Mike former the world’s first Super Recognisers Unit at New Scotland Yard.

The team worked on cold cases, with one dating as far back as the 1970s as they accurately identified the body of a man who drowned in the River Thames.

But Mike’s favourite moment was managing to track a Hillsborough victim, and sending a picture of him entering the stadium smiling to his mum.

‘There were a few victims investigators were struggling to pinpoint on CCTV, but we managed to find him as he entered the stadium grounds,’ Mike said.

‘And he had the loveliest smile on his face, so we printed it out and sent it to his mum so she would know he was in a happy mood and looking forward to the match before he died.’

Now retired, Mike dedicates his time to select and train fellow super recognisers.

But a case which Mike is most itching to be able to work on is the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

He said: ‘I offered my services to her parents years ago, and I never heard back. I don’t think they realised that we can be useful, and maybe they’ll come round.

‘Even if she is in the background of a picture and is now in her 20s, we will be able to spot her.’

But how does one even know they are a super-recogniser? And how are they recruited to work for the police?

Simply, lots of detectives are part of the 1% anyway.

‘People gravitate towards jobs where their skill sets lie,’ Mike said. ‘So finding people who have a knack for spotting criminals is not hard in the police force.’

A 10 minute online test can tell you whether you are likely to be a super-recongiser, and if you pass with flying colours, you are encouraged to book further assessments with them.

The skills are also used in the negative, to help prove people aren’t who they say they are.

This includes catching people who tried to take advantage of the horrific Grenfell tower block fire.

Mike said: ‘There were some people making false claims they lost their homes in fire in order to receive payments from the council, but we looked at years of CCTV footage from outside of the building and were able to prove they have never once been inside.’

Mike and his team have not just worked within the UK, as they teach foreign police forces how to best utilise those capable of recognising any face.

He said: ‘We went over to Germany to help with the mass sexual assaults in Cologne in 2016, and now they have the largest numbers of super recognisers working for them.

‘I’ve started working with police forces in the US as well, it’s great to see so many people catching on as to how we can help solve cases.’

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