On June 11 -12, 2013, at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, the National Institute of Justice and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (Participating Partners RTI International and Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Forensic Science) held the Technology Transition Workshop: Technical Advances in the Visual Documentation of Crime Scenes. The goal of this workshop was to provide the attendees with the theory and foundational knowledge, as well as hands-on learning with the most prominent instruments being marketed: the PanoScan, the 3D Leica Scanner and SceneVision.
This on-site all travel-expenses paid workshop was attended by 25 police officers, forensic practitioners and crime scene investigators from 14 different states. Pre-workshop web-based learning courses were created to give attendees foundational knowledge about 2D/3D scanning technologies and are now available to the public.
Participants spent 1.5 days rotating through modules for three panoramic imaging technologies where they listened to end-user perspective presentations of a scene, practiced using hardware to scan an on-site mock scene, and worked through software processing for each technology. Participants came away with presentation products, demonstration software, a workbook, and other valuable information about each of the scanning technologies for further consideration upon return to their agencies. Vendors were onsite for the duration of the workshop and provided valuable clarification, insight, and demonstrations for a well-rounded participant experience.
Introduction: Michelle Peace, Lyndsay Durham
Context of Documentation: Marilyn Miller
Practitioner overviews of each scanning technology:
SceneVision – Panorama: Virginia Department of Forensic Science
Panoscan: Roanoke and Arlington County Police Departments
Leica ScanStation C10: Virginia State Police
Leica Comparison Presentation: Rich Consulting, LLC