SANFORD, Fla. — Three-dimensional technology is helping police speed up crime scene investigations, and Seminole County Sheriff's Office allowed Spectrum News a special look at it.
- Seminole County Sheriff's Office, Sanford Police using Faro Focus 3D
- Camera takes crime scene images to create a realistic model
- Makes it faster to measure, examine the scenes
The Faro Focus 3D technology swivels around a crime scene, and takes pictures of everything it sees. The 360 images can provide a real look at a crime scene during an investigation. Sometimes the Faro Focus 3D has to be moved to a different part of a room, depending on furniture and where a victim may be.
As a result, measuring points takes a lot less time than using a tape measure and a pen.
For example, if investigators want to measure the distance between two bullet holes from a shooting, all they have to do is make two mouse clicks, and it gives a distance down to less than a millimeter. That accuracy counts if the case goes before a jury.
"You can walk the person from outside, through the front door, down the hallway, into the room where the body is," said Christine Snyder, crime scene supervisor for the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Snyder says it saves time, and money. It costs money to have investigators and crime scene analysts, as well as security.
The Sanford Police Dept. also started using the technology in December.