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Attorney General Mike DeWine
DeWine Adds New
Technology to Document Complex Crime Scenes
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today
that crime scene agents with the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal
Investigation (BCI) have a new tool to assist in documenting complex
crime scenes.
Agents are now using a 3D laser scanner, which sits on a tripod and
rotates 360 degrees, to take millions of precise laser measurements and
hundreds of digital photographs. The end result produced with
this latest crime scene technology is a “to scale” video that flies
through the scene.
“We are always looking to put the best tools in the hands of our BCI
agents, so they can be more efficient,” said Attorney General
DeWine. “This new technology helps our agents capture more
information quickly when they investigate a complicated crime
scene. The end product also provides an accurate visual for
jurors, which helps county prosecutors with their criminal cases.”
Currently BCI has one 3D laser scanner in use. By October, four
more should be in place. Eventually, the five laser scanners will
be spread out across Ohio for BCI agents to use in assisting local law
enforcement agencies in criminal investigations.
The images help capture measurements from any object in the
scene. The images also help BCI agents reconstruct the crime
scene by capturing bullet trajectories and bloodstain patterns.
One laser scan takes about five minutes. As many as a dozen scans
inside a crime scene (in different areas) may be needed to piece the
entire scene together.
BCI has used the 3D laser scanner technology about a dozen times,
including the recent homicide investigation of a Cleveland Heights bar
owner just a few weeks ago. In general, this technology will be
used in homicide and officer-involved shooting investigations which
involve complex crime scenes.
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