Utilizing 3D printed images to give testimony in court proceedings may assist to enhance the understanding of the technical language for a jury. This is according to a Cranfield Forensic Institute study.
The research carried out with mock witnesses discovered that perception of technical language utilized in a courtroom enhanced to 94% when 3D printed designs are provided. This is when compared to 79 percent with photographic images.
The simulated courtroom activity included 91 people being randomly allotted one of the 3 visual proof formats. The formats included 3D visualizations, a 3D-printed pattern, photographs. In this situation the head of a head trauma victim. The individuals were asked querries to assess understanding.
The researchers at the Cranfield are currently fine-tuning a method to 3D print crime scenes that might be utilized to provide testimony in court. They are calling for further study into the wider possibility for additive manufacturing to be utilized around forensic science.
Lecturer at Cranfield Forensic Institute, Dr. David Errickson, stated that: “Evidence presented in court cases needs to be clear so members of a jury can understand it. There has been a rapid development of 3D printing in the last decade across industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and dentistry but there are very few examples of 3D printing being applied in forensic scenarios in the published literature.”
“The documentation of crime scenes using a terrestrial laser scanner is not a new concept, but there is limited literature on the printing of these models,” added Errickson. “In order for 3D printing to be used in forensic science, particularly in courts of law, the discipline needs a recognizable evidence-base that underpins its reliability and applicability.”
Together with precisely reconstructing offense scenes and the courtroom presentation of facts. Additive manufacturing could be utilized by forensic scientists in a variety of other means. This includes police probes, for instance, recording the location of the cars in road movement collisions to rebuilding mass graves, giving and archiving material in forensic tutoring and museums.
“The creation of physical 3D replicas allows for higher levels of interaction as users can hold, rotate, feel and inspect the object, something that is not possible with traditional 2D photographs or virtual 3D models. 3D replicas could also allow for the visual representation of evidence that otherwise would not be able to be presented in a court of law, such as human remains, and can be acquired from scanning techniques that are non-invasive and non-contact, helping to maintain the integrity of the original material,” Says the Researcher in the Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London, Rachael Carew, who is also part of the research team.
Also, the experts are also partnering with sector associates on the scanning technology which is utilized to make the designs.
“Within a very short time after a crime, urgent steps must be taken to avoid deterioration of the scene and loss of evidence. 3D forensic documentation captures the entire scene before the site is compromised. With this digital evidence, forensic scientists can examine the scene at a later date for lines of sight, a bullet trajectory or a blood spatter analysis. 3D scanning turns crime scene sketches into a digital forensic tool,” said Marcus Rowe, the Public Safety and Forensics Account Manager, FARO Technologies UK. This is a firm that creates and 3D produces imaging technology.
