Even in the increasingly digital world, much of the work involved in crime scene processing remains inherently physical. Nonetheless, new technologies are shaping the landscape, including influencing the tools law enforcement professionals use to investigate, collaborate, and process evidence.  

A range of products and services exists that offer both cutting-edge and time-tested solutions needed for one of the most important aspects of law enforcement. 

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), a research agency within the U.S. Department of Justice that compiles and disseminates information for law enforcement professionals on topics including crime scene handling, emphasizes that an effective crime scene investigation combines physical and documentary evidence. 

“If crime scene investigators do not act methodically, they risk contaminating or losing evidence,” NIJ’s website states. “Approach a crime scene investigation as if it will be your only opportunity to preserve and recover evidence. Combine a scientific assessment of physical evidence with case information and witness statements as you assess the scene.” Thus, an effective investigation, as defined here, requires the use of both technology and hands-on police work. 

Technological Solutions 

Various technologies are helping forensic scientists and investigators increase efficiency and save time during their work, without sacrificing thoroughness. One of these solutions is CrimePad, a mobile app for Apple, Windows, and Android platforms that turns tablets into a portable hub for the entire investigations team. 

“CrimePad was developed right after iPads,” said Jeff Gurvis, a forensic scientist by training and a co-founder of Visionations, the Denver, Colorado, vendor that developed CrimePad. “We thought it was a great way to replace pen and paper. You can record the info in an app in real time. The true power isn’t just the transition to electronics. It’s in the collaboration.” 

CrimePad users can log data into the app for each investigation, upload sketches and photos, or take photos directly from the device, and document interviews and all other investigative techniques and actions, while allowing all team members to view the data in real time.  

“It’s about real-time collaboration,” said Lance Christman, another Visionations co-founder. “There’s no multiday delay. When you’re done, you’re done. There’s no need to assimilate notes and different workflows. You just generate the reports.” 

That collaborative spirit appears not only in how CrimePad connects its users, but also in how it distinguishes them. Each professional category has its interface, tailored to that profession’s skill set. That grouping enables users to focus on their tasks and better contribute to the broader investigation. 

“Each person has a defined role, so we’ve developed each user’s screen with only what they are doing and what they need for their role,” Gurvis said. “There’s nothing unnecessary, no overload of information. One of our primary focuses was always the user experience.” 

According to Gurvis, CrimePad can achieve some accurate efficiencies. One customer’s internal research found that CrimePad halved the time it took to produce a report after the initial crime scene investigation. Another agency reduced the steps from the crime scene to the court from 187 to 85. 

“It covers all the documentation, all the techniques,” Gurvis said. “If they process a door with powder, even if it doesn’t yield documentable evidence, you still have to document it. With CrimePad you’re entering it one time and potentially using it downstream.” 

Another leading provider in the realms of forensics, crime scene processing, and related areas is Sirchie, headquartered in Youngsville, North Carolina. From training to specialized vehicles to latex gloves, Sirchie offers just about anything an agency or a crime lab might need to conduct investigations. 

Among Sirchie’s many offerings is E3 Universal Digital Evidence Examination Software, a digital evidence solution that processes computer files and hard drive data, smartphone and mobile data, and “emerging Internet of Things data,” according to the Sirchie website. The E3 DS Mobile Evidence Examination Software is a forensics tool designed especially for mobile devices and can provide password bypass, physical imaging, data carving, app data parsing, and more. 

Plenty of other high-tech devices are on Sirchie’s menu of products. One of those items is designed, after a fashion, to “stop” technology. Faraday bags are an essential part of the crime scene investigation given the constantly increasing evidentiary role that smartphones and other connected devices play in investigations. Once placed inside a Faraday bag, mobile phones, GPS-equipped devices, laptop computers, tablets, and other devices are unable to send or receive Wi-Fi, radio, Bluetooth, or other signals. 

Physical Solutions 

The tangible tools of crime scene investigation go beyond test kits and fingerprint powder. Some products can help not only process the crime scene—but also allow investigators to recreate it. 

The Lynn Peavey Company, a forensics supplies company based in Lenexa, Kansas, provides several products to help investigators produce accurate depictions of real incidents. For instance, the company’s line of Blood Spatter Heads is designed to produce true-to-life, high-velocity impact spatter patterns for gunshot or blunt-force cases. According to the Lynn Peavey website, the Gunshot Head is a thinly cast hollow head lined on the inside with blood packs that can be shot with any caliber gun, while the Bludgeon Heads are filled at the top with a custom blend of wax and blood.  

For crime scene reconstruction, training, or even courtroom presentations, Lynn Peavey offers a full crime scene mannequin, which is custom made to match the corpse of just about any crime victim. “It is the next best thing to facing the actual decedent on the slab at the morgue,” the Lynn Peavey website notes. 

The mannequin can be created to include a variety of trauma including scratch marks, tire tracks, road rash, contusions, bullet holes, bruising, livor mortis, and various stages of decomposition. Moreover, the arms and head are removable in case there is a need to document additional trauma. 

As those who work crimes scenes know, even when the investigation is complete, the job is not over. Vendors are also available to help safely dispose of unneeded materials and clean up what can often be unsafe environments. 

Drugs are a common category of evidence. Destroying that evidence, however, can be time consuming and tedious. The makers of NARC Gone HD, Dallas-based Global Focus Marketing and Distribution say they have an answer to the problem. 

NARC Gone HD is an environmentally safe chemical containing a carbon molecule that can neutralize the active ingredient in prescription drugs or illicit narcotics. 

“It allows for simple disposal in the trash. It turns to a gel,” said GFMD Vice President Bert Williams. “It’s completely destroyed, and it meets the standards for non-retrievable destruction. If you take our chemical and dump the drugs into a bucket and agitate it around, then leave it alone, it usually takes only a minute or two.” 

It can take a few minutes or, in some cases, as long as 48 hours for the actual destruction to occur, after which disposal can occur as it would for everyday garbage. It is also cost-effective, with one five-gallon container of NARC Gone HD able to handle 15,000 pills.  

According to Williams, one NARC Gone HD customer saved several personnel hours for the agency every time the need arose for drug destruction. 

“When you’re looking at other methods for illicit drug destruction, there’s only one other option: incineration,” Williams said. “Usually agencies keep the drugs in a locked cabinet until they’re ready for destruction, two officers in a police vehicle drive to and from an incineration facility, they have to witness the destruction, and then they get a certificate and drive back. With our method, none of that is necessary.” 

The last step of a crime scene investigation is the cleanup. That is a relatively thankless task that must be done carefully and professionally. Bio-One, a company with franchises around the United States, is specially equipped to clean up after homicides, suicides, and other traumatic incidents, as well as decontaminate and remediate a range of biohazardous situations. 

From the moment responders arrive at the scene through the moment they close the crime scene investigation, there are tools to make both digital and physical tasks more efficient and improve the investigative value of evidence present at crime scenes.

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