The Luxembourg police are to run a course on facial reconstruction

From 3 to 7 August, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Police will be holding an international training course in Luxembourg on forensic facial reconstruction. Law enforcement officers from the Benelux countries and the Greater Region, as well as two police officers from Abu Dhabi, will take part in this specialised programme. This training initiative is being organised with the support of Joe Mullins, an expert from the School of Forensic Science at George Mason University in the USA. The main aim of the event is to train specialists in reconstruction for their subsequent work within national law enforcement agencies.

In forensic practice worldwide, facial reconstruction technology is used in criminal investigations in cases where traditional methods of identifying victims prove ineffective. Forensic facial reconstruction enables a detailed model of a person’s face to be created, based solely on the anatomical structure of their skull. Consequently, this tool provides investigating authorities with a scientifically sound means of identifying the deceased, even where the remains have suffered severe damage.

Systematic development of this field in Luxembourg began in 2025, when the local police sent two officers to the United States for a training programme lasting several weeks. These officers are now part of a small group of European forensic scientists who are officially qualified to apply this methodology. Drawing on the international experience gained, the Grand Duchy’s police force established Europe’s first official in-house unit specialising in forensic facial reconstruction services.