CARMEL – A crime can happen in just seconds or minutes, but these critical moments generate valuable forensic information. From blood to impact spatter to bullet defects, everything must be carefully documented. When control or integrity of the crime scene depends on other factors, it is essential to capture and process crime scene evidence as completely as possible the first time.
Increasingly, 3D scanning and reality capture provide the comprehensive, data-driven documentation investigators need when analyzing a crime site. By storing information digitally, forensic investigators can examine minute details, share that information with other team members, and return to the virtual crime scene again and again to evaluate the evidence.
Putnam County law enforcement now has a new tool that will allow investigators to use technology to help them solve a crime.
The FARO camera system was purchased by the sheriff’s office with funds from seized assets that fire hundreds of thousands of lasers while taking measurements at a crime scene.
FARO is derived from the ancient Greek word “pharos” which means lighthouse. This name is an appropriate choice for a company that provides 3D measurements, imaging and digital technologies to help police move forward and solve a crime.
The sheriff’s forensic unit’s lead investigator, Randel Hill, is certified to use transported technology at the scene of any serious crime throughout the county.
Hill recalled the days of “drawing and taking measurements.” FARO accomplishes the task better, faster and much more efficiently.
At a demonstration Wednesday, Sheriff Kevin McConville explained, “As part of our ongoing process, we have sought technology that would allow the department to perform our work more effectively and efficiently. FARO was discovered through our conversations with the New York State Sheriff’s Association.
McConville described FARO, comprised of both stationery and portable units, as “incredible technology that replicates a crime scene to the exact eighth of an inch, providing additional efficiency for our forensic staff.”
Sheriff’s Capt. James Schepperly, former commander of the New York State Police, explained that FARO “increases accuracy and precision beyond measure by eliminating hours of laborious manpower required to make measurements and create diagrams. FARO allows law enforcement to walk a jury through a crime to determine how it actually happened. This is a game changer when it comes to evidence for law enforcement.
The training took place at Kent Fire Service headquarters in West Kent.
Hill explained that the system allows investigators to connect leads via surveillance cameras to actual analysis by establishing timelines and actual photos of the crime scene. Reenactment scenes were also created.
McConville noted, “When the data is presented to the District Attorney’s Office, the information will allow DA personnel to be at the scene of the crime. FARO is truly a phenomenal tool.