PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD
PLANNING AND LEADERSHIP FOR A BETTER WORLD If you’ve ever watched a CSI episode, then you realize that forensic science has come a long way from, say, the days when women were tossed in lakes to see if they floated or not to ferret out witches. Indeed, with continued advancements in DNA testing, weapons tracing, toxicology reporting and other critical areas, public safety officers are better positioned than ever to pursue leads on murders, robberies, hit-and-runs, drug crimes and other open cases.
However, prospects of sharing important forensic-related data among multiple law enforcement/DHS agencies have been lacking. “There have been major advancements in forensic science, but problems remain with respect to how investigative teams can collaborate,” says Dr. Mitzi Montoya, a professor of innovation management at North Carolina State University. “This has not changed over the years.”
Whether attempting to exchange information on the path of a bullet, the body position of a victim or the psychological history of a suspect, those investigating these cases—the various sheriff’s departments, municipal police officers, federal agencies, state crime teams and other involved players—have too often been stymied in communicating effectively and accessing each other's findings as they work to solve a case, she says.
But thanks to a $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) program, Montoya and her N.C. State colleagues will be working on an application that could bring collaborative forensics into the 21st century: a platform known as IC-CRIME. Using the same videogame technology that one finds while enjoying a session with the Xbox, the IC-CRIME platform will employ the latest in 3D laser scanning technologies to virtually reconstruct and preserve crime scenes, and will be built on a game engine to enable virtual re-creation of the scene.
Developed by a Durham, N.C.-based company called 3rdTech, IC-CRIME scanners can capture millions of data points at a crime scene within a few minutes. As a result, investigators will be able to accurately record room and object dimensions, and pinpoint the placement of every piece of evidence at a crime scene. A comprehensive dyed fiber database for hair/fiber samples left at the scene will all be part of the package.
Ultimately, all of this will be stored in a comprehensive, permanent data record. The IC-CRIME platform will make the crime scene accessible to those investigators granted access—such as blood-spatter and hair/fiber experts located in different parts of the country. Experts from around the globe will be able to be brought into crime scene virtually and collaborate effectively to prosecute a case.
How flexible will IC-CRIME be? It will be able to show a jury the point of view of a 5-foot, 1-inch tall woman witness, so jury members can "see" what she saw, and then do the same when the next witness called is a 6-foot, 10-inch tall man. Another anticipated plus: The platform will be user-friendly and intuitive, as crime-scene investigators—as opposed to exclusively IT researchers—will be consulted on how to best process the data/evidence accurately and re-create crime scenes.
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