New 3D scanner is a 'game changer' for investigations, says RNC

The linoleum floor is splattered with a dark red liquid, pooling a few feet away from a beaten up couch. A few empty beer bottles lay nearby, a gun has been left on the floor and shell casings are rolling around.

On top of a small table is a cell phone, keys and a white, powdered substance arranged in lines.

And there, in the back of the room stands a tripod with a scanner on top, its green lights blinking.

This isn't the actual scene of a violent death, but the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary's scenario room where a scene has been staged to demonstrate a 3D scanner and other new equipment now being used by the police.

"We constructed it to look like a sudden death," RNC director of forensics and property control Kathryn Rodgers told CBC News.

"So [it's] all very typical elements that we may encounter on scene."

The scenario room allows officers to train with the new equipment, like the 3D scanner, the unit's latest purchase.

"It's certainly a game changer in how much information can be captured in just minutes at a scene," said Rodgers.

The scanner sits atop a tripod and takes a scan of whatever is in its line of sight, using a laser and a camera that rotates in 360 degrees.

"It's sending out this laser, capturing millions and millions of data points, collecting them and putting them into a pattern, which is recreating the scene that we're in," Rodgers said.

The rendering is accurate to about three millimetres, she added, and can help officers take measurements after they've left a scene.

"It can be visualized for court. It can be visualized by juries and judges and also by other scientists who may need to look at the scene or other officers who may need to look at the scene. So it's a really great tool," Rodgers said.

And while it might not be used at every scene, Rodgers said it's a useful tool for more complicated scenes.

It was purchased by the Department of Justice and Public Safety in August for $86,193.74, according to a provincial procurement report.

The 3D scanner works in conjunction with other new equipment, like a spectrometer that uses a laser to identify compounds, said Rodgers.

"It can be anything from toxic chemicals, to drug components, to hazardous waste to explosive components. All of those are within an extensive library that sits within the software on that instrument," she said.

Knowing what a substance is can help officers determine what type of protection they might need at a scene.

For the demonstration, the white power on the table is baking soda, Rodgers added.

Another useful tool for forensic identification is the Crime-lite AUTO, Rodgers said, which uses alternate light sources to help identify different substances, like blood, saliva or gunshot residue.

"Like many fields, the technology is constantly, you know, advancing for forensic identification," she said.

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