The Wichita Falls Police Department and the Wichita County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday unveiled a new piece of equipment they say will make crime scene analysis faster and more efficient.
The gear is a Crime-Lite Auto Forensic Digital camera.
The equipment cost about $48,000, an expense that was shared by the two agencies, officials said.
WFPD Lt. Brian Sheehan said it can be used in bloodstain analysis, gunshot residue detection and latent fingerprint examination.
“It’s not your average point and shoot picture camera,” Sheehan said. “It’s going to produce a digital image that is of forensic quality that we can use as evidence.”
Crime scene technician Ashlyn Brunson, who was trained in the use of the gear, said the device will enable technicians to search, detect and capture evidence that might have been missed because not all evidence is visible to the naked eye.
The equipment is “cutting edge technology,” DA John Gillespie said.
“It’s the kind of thing you see on TV we’re bringing right here to Wichita County,” Gillespie said.
He said the equipment will provide the kind of technology juries expect in criminal cases like they see on TV.
He said the camera makes most bodily fluids visible and will enhance law enforcement’s ability to collect evidence in murder, sexual assault and sexual abuse cases.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: WFPD, DA go CSI high-tech with cutting-edge equipment
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
