Top 10 Cutting-Edge Advances in CSI Technology

We’ve all watched episodes of those popular TV shows about crime scene investigation. They take place in various cities and the investigators are always glamorous and “dressed to kill.” We do see them working in the lab, yet many times we see them actually taking down the suspects with their own gun. Reality? Maybe, but crime scene investigation is exactly as the name implies—investigation. If you’ve ever wondered how to become a crime scene investigator, even if you don’t have a designer suit, you will need training on using these Top 10 technologies to catch criminals.
1. Facial Recognition Software
An investigator no longer has to follow his nose – he can use a photo of yours. You may think you can blend in with the crowd but your face won’t lie. So go ahead … shave your beard and dye your hair black. When facial recognition software compares your features to a database, you’ll have to face the music. Better to keep your nose clean.


2. Handheld Spectrometer
Flushing your stash won’t help … this handheld spectrometer can detect illegal drug residues that are completely invisible to the naked eye.  Also, that residue on your shoes, yes that brown stuff, this technology can be used to tell an investigator where you’ve been.  Better contact a lawyer!

3. Florescent Dye Solution
Florescent colors aren’t just a fashion statement lost to the 80’s.  Even the tiniest blood spatter is visible using florescent dye, and a detailed analysis can reveal the type of weapon, how the wound was inflicted, and even whether the criminal was right or left handed.

4. New processing techniques for latent prints
Don’t smudge that smudge!  Investigators itching to retrieve a fingerprint, but hesitant to disturb material that could be subjected to DNA analysis, may soon be able to use a non-contact retrieval technique.

5. Portable Laser
How many people can brag that they carry a portable laser to work? Now smaller, lighter, and more powerful than ever, investigators can use this high-tech tool to find more trace evidence and process crime scenes faster, and we all know that time is of the essence in crime fighting. Nothing short of amazing, even a miniscule piece of a nearly-invisible blond hair found using laser technology could lead to successful prosecution using DNA amplification.

6. Electrostatic Dust Print Lifter
Burglars don’t rock gloves as a fashion statement … they know fingerprints don’t just show up on doorknobs and glass. With electrostatic lifting kits, dust becomes electrically charged to reveal prints on everything from carpet to rough surfaces such as wood. Doesn’t that just make your hair stand up on end?

7. 3D Scanning
Tediously collecting, measuring, and preserving evidence and bloodstains covering multiple surfaces can be incredibly time consuming, just ask Dexter! Luckily, 3D scanning allows investigators to process crime scenes in a fraction of the time – and with more measurements. Scanned evidence can be analyzed immediately on a laptop at the scene.

8. Fingerprint Database
In a split second a fingerprint can pull up not just a name and photo, but height, weight, hair color … even scars, tattoos, and aliases. Did you know Billy the Kid’s real name was Henry McCarty? In a bank of over 50 million prints, it’s virtually impossible to slip through the cracks.

9. DNA Database
There’s no arguing with DNA. Now that the Combined DNA Index System computer database allows all levels of law enforcement to search your genetic code against known criminal offenders, the shadow of a doubt has become less than a sliver. DNA talks so crooks don’t walk!

10. Firearm Database
Like human faces, bullets have unique characteristics. When fired, they’re marked with unique patterns by the firearm. Comparing photographed markings in a database, firearms examiners can now link guns to both current and future crimes.


source --http://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/