How Technology is Revolutionising Crime Scene Capture and Presentation Visualising a Crime Scene using Novel Crime Scene Documentation Technology

The ability to document crime scene environments in a safe, timely and efficient manner is an integral aspect in the early stages of any criminal investigation. Current methods for documenting crime scenes rely heavily upon digital photography to capture a scene in its original state. In order to meet the demand of technological expectations of juries and law enforcement personnel, forensic investigation findings need to be clearly visualised. Traditional verbal methods of presenting evidence from crime scenes are no longer sufficient and advances in technology have produced systems which allow an entire scene to be documented quickly and efficiently, using spherical photography or 3D laser scanning. This technology allows users to visit a scene without having to be physically present and allows users to view the entire scene as opposed to only the information or evidence deemed relevant at that time. The technology provides a visual presentation tool and allows juries to better understand the evidence they are presented with, providing contextual relevance and conveying spatial relationships within a scene; an aspect that still-digital photography cannot offer.

This paper discusses some of the crime scene visualisation and presentation technologies, which are available to police forces, including the benefits and limitations of this technology and recommendations for future use of technology.