When attending an incident, officers are faced with the need to record all the relevant data from the scene in a timely and accurate manner. Advanced Simtech are able to provide a number of services to assist in recording and analysing this information using our high definition laser scanner.

What is the advantage of scanning over conventional methods? 

With conventional techniques it is necessary to make a subjective judgment about what information will be recorded at the scene. 3-Dimensional laser scanning provides a more objective approach – everything within line of sight of the laser is captured. By repeating the scan from additional positions and then merging the resulting data, we are able to provide a comprehensive 3-Dimensional model of the scene, accurate to +/- 1 mm. 

This provides investigators with the ability to “revisit” the original scene for further spatial analysis or to collect additional data all from the convenience of their computer screen. 

How can the data be used?

The 3-Dimensional models produced can be used:

• To create detailed scene plans complementing the existing 2-Dimensional survey data.
• To allow investigators to view the scene from different angles - useful for confirming witness statements and checking what can be seen from any particular point.
• For presentation in court - colour information collected as part of the scanning process can be added to generate photo-realistic models, aiding the jury in understanding the evidence being presented.
• For obtaining accurate measurements, even post-event.

The speed of our data acquisition enables the investigators to capture far more detail in shorter time than would be possible using traditional methods.

The benefit of this 3-Dimensional environment is that it can help investigators to:

• Take non-contact measurements, with minimal intrusion to a crime scene.
• Represent and visualize bullet trajectories.
• Analyse blood splatter trajectories.
• Fly through a complex scene to understand relative positions of witnesses, victims and suspects.
• Quickly create scene plans based on complex interior scans covering several rooms of a house.
• Camera matching CCTV images against a 3-Dimensional environment to understand the spatial effect of the camera's perspective on the scene.
• Apply animation to photo realistic environments.