Oxford Police Department unveils 3D crime scene technology

In east Alabama, the Oxford Police Department is using virtual reality in its crime scene investigation.

The department recently purchased two 3D laser scanners, that create a digital 3D recreation of a crime scene.

Officer Donald Ridley explains how these scanners work. One is used for large outdoor or indoor crime scenes, the other is a hand held scanner. "The hand held scanner would be used for smaller areas such as a closet or the interior of a car," Ridley said.

Ridley recreated a crime scene using the Oxford Police Department parking lot. "It was made by 19 scans There's about two-and-a-half hours work involved in that. That's a to-scale video of our front parking lot."

These scanners will typically be used for crime scene and fatal crash investigations.

Once the design is captured, investigators can measure distance and rotate scenes to show any perspective. The purpose of this technology is to help jurors put themselves into the scene as investigators saw it.

"What this technology is going to allow us to do is actually put (jurors) inside that crime scene and give them a three dimensional overview of what happened so they understand it better," says Oxford Police Chief Bill Partridge.

The scanners cost a total of $70,000. Partridge says it is money well spent, because it will save man hours and resources. "I've been on crime scenes where it's taken 11 to 12 hours to process, whereas with this, we would be able to process in just a couple," he said.

The Oxford Police Department is the only law enforcement agency in the state to have this technology.