COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. -- WINK News investigates the technology authorities are using to track down suspects.  It's nothing like what you see in the movies.  Instead, investigators use computer technology to develop a detailed image.  Turning the words of a victim into a sketch can happen with just the click of a mouse.

Sketches.  They can help law enforcement solve cases and make the public aware of dangerous people.  For Detective Ellen Kastner, she knows a sketch can close a case.

"It helps us find the person that committed the crime," said Detective Kastner, Collier County Sheriff's Office.

In the past, law enforcement used artists but now they've been replaced with computers at the Collier County Sheriff's Office.

"We can tap into a program that shows you 20 different head shapes, 100 different eye shapes, different mustaches, different ears," said Kastner.

The program is called Faces and while not exact, it can help detectives get an idea of what a suspect might look like.

"Its kind of like the electronic mister potato head.  You're just trying to shape it from the head type to the eyes, to the nose, to the mouth," said Kastner.

But there are problems with switching from artists sketches to computer generated images.

"On the computer its a little more difficult to age, the computer doesn't necessarily recognize a 70 year old versus an 18 year old," said Kastner.

Also, artists are able to help with shading skin tone where the computer can't but there are up sides.

"It still ends up being better for us at the time using the electronic version because to be able to call out sketch artist at 3 a.m., its not going to happen," said Kastner.

It's about getting information out quickly and as to as many people as possible.

"The more information you can get out there to the public, fellow law enforcement officers, it just makes it a lot easier to solve the case and protect other potential victims," said Kastner.