Over the last decade, police in the UK have utilized 3D scanning to solve more than 300 murders, it has been revealed.
Developed at the University of Warwick, this particular version of the technology is said to yield 1,000-times higher resolution images than hospital CT scans. In the hands of officers from 30 police forces, it now allows injuries sustained at crime scenes to be reviewed in finite detail.
This, in turn, is making it easier to gather the evidence needed to make convictions. When examining wounds, for instance, these 3D scans enable investigators to tell the difference between those caused by blunt force, and accidental injuries like slips and trips.
Since first deployed in 2014, the university’s technology has been used to investigate instances of stabbing, strangulation, blunt force injuries, and bone fractures.
In one case, it has even proven that a 64-year-old fell accidentally, after 3D scans were utilized to make a 3D model, which showed exact matches of a door handle he’d hit his head on.
On the flipside, the technology has also been used to find two murderers guilty of dismembering their victim, with scans confirming their intent by the direction/ferocity of their cutting motions.
It’s not exactly the first application of 3D scanning in this area. After all, more professional devices continue to find forensic 3D scanning use cases. But it’s a great example of how authorities are turning to advanced technologies to ensure justice is served.
