New Tools Bring Science Into Police Work
The Beaumont, Calif., Police Department is using cutting-edge technology to investigate crime and traffic scenes. The department spent $13,000 on “total station” technology that is normally used by surveyors and engineers. The equipment is manufactured by Aokkia., and Beaumont police were trained to use the technology by a representative of the company, law enforcement applications manager Duke Dutch.
The technology uses lasers and prisms to provide exceptionally accurate documentation of on-scene evidence.
Dutch says he has trained about 200 U.S. law enforcement agencies to use the equipment. At least seven other California law enforcement departments are using total station technology, including the Fontana Police Department, which has used the technology for the last five years.
Fontana officer Wayne Blessinger, part of the department’s major accident investigation team, says that the total station equipment has helped cut the time it takes to investigate accident scenes by at least half. In addition, the total station provides “a picture story of the collision” and step-by-step diagrams, making evidence much more presentable in court.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Riverside Press-Enterprise (CA) (01/16/05) P. B1; DeCarlo, Paul .
