LAPD buys forensic 3D laser scanners
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department adds 3D laser scanning technology from Leica Geosystems to support forensic and investigative activities — but also to help prosecution in impressing juries: “Due to the all of the CSI-type programming on television, jurors these days have much higher expectations about the quality and clarity of information that prosecutors present to them,” says Leica’s Tony Grissim
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has acquired forensic 3D laser scanning technology from St. Gallen, Switzerland-based Leica Geosystems. The department’s crime laboratory is deploying two Leica ScanStation 2 laser scanners to support homicide, arson/explosive, and complex deputy-involved shooting investigations. At a press conference Sheriff Leroy Baca, said, “The LASD has acquired two of the most technologically advanced forensic 3D laser scanning systems currently available. The laser scanning systems made by Leica Geosystems will provide our investigators with the forensic tools that they need to capture, document and record crime scenes with remarkable accuracy.”
The ScanStation 2 is a long-range, tripod-mounted, 3D laser scanner integrated with a high-resolution panoramic camera, and with a set of software tools for creating detailed 2D scene diagrams (“and,” the company addds, “vivid 3D jury exhibits”). The result from a completed scan is a visually impressive rendering of the scene in 3D from which any measurement can be made and any perspective viewed, even long after the scene has been released. John Radeleff, chief of Technical Services Division for LASD, added, “It’s not just time savings we will realize. It’s more importantly the added value that it gives to our investigative abilities. Imagine what images like this can do for the jury to help them make decisions on their cases. To be virtually placed in the middle of the crime goes a long way to help them visualize and get a much better understanding of what actually happened.”
Impressing the jury is important. Tony Grissim, forensic account manager for Leica Geosystems said that “Due to the all of the CSI-type programming on television, jurors these days have much higher expectations about the quality and clarity of information that prosecutors present to them.” Leica recently launched its public safety and forensic Web site.
