An essential element of law enforcements responsibilities is the oversight and lead of incident scene investigations to produce accurate data that can hold up in court if a trial is needed. To achieve that level of accuracy in the processing of a scene, police officers require powerful tools that can eliminate human error, capture information quickly, and get all the data that is needed.
Its amazing when an officer has access to tools that can assist these needs and even better when all of those tools are in one piece of powerful, portable tech. DT Researchs high-performance rugged tablets are built to be law enforcements ultimate tech partner.
Here are the specifics on how DT Researchs rugged tablets ensure police officers obtain the highest of quality data in the main two types of investigations they oversee:
Crime scene investigations
One of the most critical and detail-oriented responsibilities of a police officer is thorough and precise crime scene investigations. Law enforcements number one goal is to make sure that all evidence is processed and documented without any disturbance and that it can be used in court to support the case so justice can be delivered fairly. To do so, officers must gather and organize evidence that will be completely reliable. To be used in court, all evidence submitted must be accurate and provable. Gathering evidence with a rugged tablet ensures accuracy and prove-ability.
A prime example of the important utilization of rugged tablets is when a crime scene needs to be processed. The capabilities of a rugged tablet reduce the time it takes to process a scene significantly. With the existence of a rugged tablet, there is no need for a tape measure and there is no need to go through the painstaking process of measuring out everything by hand. The tablet creates a stationary point and then measures everything from that stationary point. What used to take two hours now only takes 15-minutes, a significant boost in efficiency.
In the instance where officers arent able to get close to the scene or they need to process the scene quickly to ensure their safety, a drone can be connected to the tablet through its wi-fi and bluetooth capabilities to transfer all of the data that it scans from flying above the crime scene. Either of these options reduces both risks to law enforcement as well as eliminating the risk of an officer accidentally contaminating the crime scene while attempting to manually process it. With this technology in-hand, officers can be assured that they are getting measurements that are 100% accurate and reliable and will, therefore, stand up in court.
The ability to capture detailed images of crash scenes without putting the officer at risk becomes even more imperative when it comes to crime scenes that contain hazardous environments. With the use of a rugged tablet, the officer can process the scene and do their duty efficiently so they do not have to be in a hazardous environment any longer than necessary. This aspect of increased safety that the rugged tablet brings to the scenario is invaluable.
Crash scene investigations
In a crash scene investigation, law enforcements main objective once any possible crash victims are tended to is to document the crime scene, as well as preserve it along with the evidence. Accurate crash scene documentation is critical to determining contributing factors and any potential violations of the law. If a single individual is at fault, clear documentation of the crime scene can show it.
With a portable rugged tablet on the crash scene with the officer, a quick analysis and scanning can be conducted. By using the powerful 3D RealSense camera in the rugged tablet the officer can get accurate images and scans from the ground up. However, many important aspects of the crash scene can sometimes only be gathered from above. Thats where the use of a drone comes in again. A drone can hover above the middle point of a crash scene and capture more 3D images of the scene but from a new angle. Once connected to the tablet through its wi-fi/bluetooth capabilities the images and data will transfer over in real-time to the tablet and the officer will have the highest possible accuracy of crash scene images in his/her hand – both from the ground and from above. Being that these images were taken with 3D technology, they meet the requirements of reliability to be presented in court and to help proceedings in relation to the crash. A major factor is that the rugged tablet reduces the time needed to document a scene, allowing faster clearing and making roads safer from secondary crashes.
A key point of optimal crime scene and crash scene investigations is the swiftness of arrival of the investigating police officer. This is an aspect that rugged tablets help to achieve too. With the valuable feature of GPS installed within the tablet, officers can immediately receive directions for how to most quickly get to the scene of an incident with real-time traffic information and routing. GPS tracking also enables officers and supervisors to see the location of all officers on duty and whether they are on foot or in a vehicle. Rugged tablets GPS capabilities also enable officers to report precise locations of events which can become extremely useful and important in court and during the trial.
In both crime scene and crash scene investigations, the 3D RealSense camera and the ability to use drones connected to the tablet reduces and sometimes eliminates the uncertainty of the layout and the risk of a crime scene. It is even possible to do a scan with both the drone and the rugged tablet, providing the officer with multiple highly accurate sets of images that contain exact measurements that can make all the difference in the courtroom.