Current and Future Level Technologies in the field of Criminalistics
The government agencies have began to support the promise of technological change in the criminal justice system. Three years ago the Vice President, Attorney General, and the Secretary of Defense executed a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Justice and the Department of Defense pledging the cooperation of those two agencies to converting the successes of defense technology into new for Civilian Law enforcement use. congress then appropriated over sixty million dollars over a two year period for the defense budget to support the conversions of those technologies. In the Crime Act, Congress and the President agreed that a portion of the funds would to go to support the goal of 100,000 additional police officers that would be devoted to funding new technologies in police departments.
"Technology is a tool, not a solution." - Jeremy Travis, Director of National Institute of Justice.
*Drug Testing*
Many scientists believe that it will become extremely possible in the coming up years to identify biochemical or hormonal facts in human behavior and eventually modify that behavior.
Drug testing technology is now a common source in American Society. Even though the drug testing technology has become more advanced and powerful, it has made it quicker, easier, and cheaper to get accurate results; It still has its limitations.
One form of a cheap test that provides immediate results and is now widely spread throughout the justice system is the urine test. some limitations with the test are the relatively short time frames of the detection for cocaine compared to a longer time frame for marijuana.
More powerful and for the future more expensive technology includes: hair tests, sweat patches, and other bio-assays can detect drug usage over a long period of time, which also will not impose into the subjects privacy.
*Concealed Weapons Detection*
Stationary-
The new Secure 100 is an electronic imaging system used to detect weapons, explosives, drugs, and other dangerous objects located under a persons clothing. The person suspected of carrying any of the illegal items then will be placed in front of the system on a black pad which then scans you for three seconds, then you turn and it will scan the backside for three more seconds. Immediately after, a digital image will appear on the operators computer screen displaying the shape and location of all objects hidden under the clothing.
The many different typical objects that can be indicated such as plastic explosives, .38 caliber handguns, coins in the pockets, snaps on the pants, screwdrivers, and even metal watchbands, even the skinbones will appear since they are close to the skin. C4 explosives, bullets, wallets, hunting knives, and other metal objects. About 150 (secure 100's) are in use in the U.S., Mexico, Argentina and Puerto Rico. This system took five years to create.
Portable-(hand wands)
The security Wizard lll is the most powerful security wand metal detector available. It gives immediate results, pinpoints weapons and paraphemalia instantly. It eliminates the needs for Pat Downs or Long Searches. It can detect very small things such as needles to any tiny weapons. It vibrates when it detects something and also comes with a handy cord and belt clip!
It's powerful technology allows it to be used when needed at any critical moment. It can detect: steel, stainless steel, zinc, magnesium, and aluminum.
The cool thing is that it runs off a standard alkaline nine volt battery!!
*DNA Advancements*
Any person convicted of a law violation or crime already has their DNA profile in the DNA Database. DNA profiles are developed from biological evidence found at a crime scene.
We are now able to test smaller pieces of biological evidence and receive a DNA fingerprint. Which can come from even an old or degraded sliver of evidence. The Offender Database is capable of finding matches of evidence even though there is no suspect identified.
DNA evidence is considered a instruction manual and blueprint for everything inside of the body. DNA is necessary to investigations, since is is close to impossible for someone to have the exact same DNA as you.
- 1988 was the first time someone was sent to prison by DNA evidence.
Sources of DNA-- Science has found several ways of pulling DNA from places and sources that used to be to difficult or way to contaminated to use. An example of this is when detectives in phoenix, AZ, linked a suspect of a murder victim by testing the DNA of a Palo Verde tree found at the scene. The trees contain pods, the pods in the truck matched each other and they matched the pods of the tree to the ones in the truck. It was the first DNA fingerprints of a plant that were used in a trial.
DNA expanding-- Instead of collecting DNA for the database of violent crime victims, President Busch in 2006, expanded the collection not just of convicts but also suspected illegal immigrants, and even captives of the war on terrorism.
*Mass Spectrometer*
The mass spectrometer is an instrument which can measure the masses and relative concentrations of atoms and molecules. It identifies unknown compounds, determining the isotopic composition of elements in a molecule also by observing its fragmentation you can determine its structure. The Mass Spectrometer is very commonly used in labs that study physical, chemical, or biological properties of compounds.
- Contains three molecules-
- ion source
- mass analyzer
- detector
- Stage 1 Ionization
The atom knocks one or more electrons off of it to make the ion positive. The Mass Spectrometer always uses positive ions.
- Stage 2 Acceleration
The ions accelerate so they all have the same kinetic energy.
- Stage 3 Deflection
The ions get deflected according to their mass by a magnetic field. The lighter the more they are deflected. The heavier the less. The more the ion is charged the more it gets reflected
- Stage 4
Then the ions pass through the Mass Spectrometer and gets detected electrically. The outcomes are produced on a stick diagram.
*Fingerprints*
Identifying Fingerprints relies on the matching of ridge characteristics. There are three basic ones: Ridge endings, Bifurcation, dot/island. No fingerprints are exactly the same. One fingerprint can have at least 100 points for identification purposes.
- Fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger.
Now we have computers that can do our match ups for us on a scanner instead of looking at them with a microscope and a pen. It can match just a sliver of a print to a person.
*Coherent Tracer*
The coherent tracer is a high powered portable forensic laser system. It can detect fingerprints, fibers, body fluids, bone fragments, tooth chips, narcotics residue and a ton of other trace evidence. It works a 100 times better than an ion laser or a lamp. Example-- Mini Blue Maxx.
*Sources: *
science.howstuffworks.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mass_specrometry
animoto.com
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