A lot of headlines are about how technologically savvy criminals are using new advances to help them commit crimes, but there’s another side of that equation too, and that is that there’s a lot of new technology that is helping police with their forensic investigations as well.
Five ways in particular that this is happening is through the use of new DNA technology, better training for crime scene cleaning crews, better trained police officers, more powerful computer processors, and better crime scene cameras and detection instruments.
New DNA Technology
DNA technology is a huge part of what puts many criminals away, when other evidence is not present. Things like blood, hair, skin cells, or other fluids can be used to identify people, and as DNA technology improves, the ratio of correct arrests and incarcerations is going to improve as well. Life might not totally be up to television crime drama standards, but it many cases, it’s awfully close! It’s a bit of a chase as far as art and life co-mingling.
Properly Trained Crime Scene Cleaning Crews
Another way that technology is helping with forensic investigations is through the methods of modern crime scene cleaning crews. Companies with highly-trained experts in cleanup can find additional sets of evidence after police and other investigators go through, so not only do they do a great job sanitizing the scene, they also help with clues that they give to police and investigators. Without that special training with new tech, this would not be much of a possibility.
Better Trained Police Officers
With new tech available to police officers, especially when it comes to law enforcement apps to go on mobile phones, devices, and computers, there is a much higher rate of success when it comes to collecting forensic data as well. Even something as mundane as taking pictures at a crime scene is much more details now with the type of video and photography apps that are available, even for non-specialist use.
More Powerful Computer Processors
And as computers become more powerful, so does the ability of law enforcement to observe and analyze data directly related to crimes. Forensics are a big part of this, as extremely detailed and precise amounts of data have to be measured and then made to report something meaningful. This is also the case with mobile forensics as personal cellphones can now become a valuable witness for the police. With so much information on them, they can act as a timeline as well as showing any contact had with other people before or after the crime has been committed.
Better Crime Scene Cameras and Instruments
Finally, there are new specialized crime scene cameras and other collection equipment that is now helping with all of the forensics cases as well. Sometimes these new pieces of equipment are paired together with new collection techniques as well, which makes them even more powerful in the perpetual race to be smarter and faster than the criminal mind.
