Gloucestershire Constabulary’s forensics team first in the South West to adopt ground-breaking technology
Gloucestershire Constabulary’s forensics team is the first in the south west to own the ground-breaking foster+freeman Crime-lite® AUTO, which will allow investigators to secure better evidence from crime scenes in the county.
The Crime-lite® AUTO is one of foster+freeman’s latest products which, by combining state-of-the-art forensic imaging technology with powerful multi-spectral illumination, has the potential to revolutionise the detection, analysis and capture of crime-scene evidence.
A multi-purpose powerhouse
The new DISCOVER system extends the capibilites of the Crime-lite AUTO®.
Gloucestershire’s local forensics teams can now use a single portable unit to search, detect and capture evidence on site, whereas previously teams would need to use multiple light sources and cameras to achieve similar results.
Without access to a full spectrum of light sources, it is highly likely that some evidence types will go undetected at the crime scene. Although some lab-based techniques, such as the analysis of speculative swabs or painstaking white-light microscopy may later reveal this undetected evidence, such techniques often fail to yield results, while being expensive and time-consuming.
Importantly, the technological advances contained in Crime-lite AUTO® puts the power back into the hands of frontline forensic professionals, with the device representing a sound investment through it’s ability to quickly process huge amounts of potential evidence at the crime scene; importantly saving money and time when compared to the more traditional lab-based techniques mentioned above.
Building on decades of experience
As established experts in both forensic illumination and photography, foster+freeman are uniquely placed to bring such an innovative product to the market, with years of close involvement with the forensic science community reflected in its design. Since its release the Crime-lite AUTO® has proven extremely popular across a number of forensic applications in the US, and it is now exciting to see this product being adopted by a force local to our Evesham headquarters.
The new kit was made available to the Gloucestershire Constabulary following a bid by the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to the Home Office Safer Streets Fund, and was secured with the intention of helping to tackle violence against women and girls in the county – one of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s six policing priorities.
The Crime-lite AUTO® has been featured on the BBC programme Silent Witness for its ability to quickly reveal evidence at the crime scene, including bodily fluids, blood on dark fabrics, fingerprints, gunshot residue and traces of physical evidence; all whilst capturing court-ready quality images.