Technology has penetrated every realm of the human world, be it business, online shopping, telehealth, or investigating criminal activity. Technology has transformed and revolutionized law enforcement and military services, empowering them with resources that allow precision and extensive accuracy.
In recent years, forensic technology has witnessed groundbreaking discoveries and advancements. These advancements have transformed crime-solving and criminal investigations, allowing law enforcement agencies to achieve futuristic standards. Forensic technologies are advancing rapidly, from biometric scanning to retinal scanning, evidence chemistry, and criminal psychology applications.
Let’s take a look at some of the most celebrated forensic technologies penetrating criminal investigations worldwide.
- CRIMINAL PSYCHOLOGY & PROFILING
The last decade has witnessed increasing collaborations between criminal psychology and forensic technology. Criminal investigations are profoundly psychological, and investigators bring in criminologists and psychologists to aid with the research and profiling.
Criminal profiling is a dynamic area where criminal psychologists collaborate with forensic experts and technological solutions. For instance, forensic technology advancements have created efficient profiling tools. These tools offer alternative approaches to innovative crime-solving methods and generate insightful profiles of criminal offenders to aid investigations.
Forensic tools help criminal psychologists create accurate and highly-detailed offender profiles. In recent years, criminologists and criminal psychologists are increasingly working with high-tech tools and forensic software. Aspirants and criminal psychologists are inclining towards online forensic psychology courses and certifications to improve their capability to contribute to the sector.
Forensic technology is a bridge between criminal psychologists and forensic evidence specialists with data gathering and management tools. Forensic profiling tools and software effectively gather sensitive information and data to create a meaningful and insightful picture for psychological analysis.
- DNA PHENOTYPING
Another groundbreaking advancement in forensic technology, DNA phenotyping, combines digital prowess with genomics. It allows forensic experts to rely on computers and genomics solutions to create highly detailed sketches from a DNA specimen. It’s mindblowing how DNA phenotyping solutions can make a person’s sketch using one DNA specimen picked up from the crime scene.
Interestingly, a human cell consists of 23 chromone pairs that define our visible physical appearance and features. Computers decode the DNA specimen to generate multiple physical traits and characteristics to create a sketch.
DNA phenotyping has witnessed incredible advancements over the years. Recent innovations can help identify sex, determine hair color, adult height, and brown eyes. The accuracy patterns of these insights range around 90% and higher in some cases. It can also help identify dimples, freckles, cleft lip, baldness patterns in males, earlobe attachments, and even age. The accuracy of these insights is around 70%.
- LASER ABLATION INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA MASS SPECTROMETRY (LA-ICP-MS)
Much as the name implies, this is a highly sophisticated forensic technology that comes into play when broken glass is involved. You see, crime scenes that involve broken glass require forensic experts to piece together all the tiny pieces carefully. Restoration helps find important clues about where the bullets got fired from and the impact force’s intensity.
LA-ICP-MS machines can also help experts identify the weapon used by the offender. These machines get their power from highly sophisticated isotopic recognition technology. An LA-ICP-MS machine dismantles all-glass structures to break apart their atomic structure and pull valuable insights.
These machines allow forensic scientists to match the tiniest of glass shards found on crime scenes or the victim’s body. However, experts require advanced forensic training and scientific expertise to work with such sensitive equipment.
- TIME-DETERMINING FINGERPRINT RECOGNITION
Time-determining fingerprint technology is another remarkable technology that allows precision and accuracy in identifying criminals. It will enable investigators to determine the exact timeframe when a fingerprint originated.
It helps save an enormous amount of time and resources dedicated to an investigation. It also eliminates innocent suspects from the case and shortens the suspects’ pool by specifying the timeframe.
- HIGH-SPEED BALLISTICS PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography tools have numerous fascinating applications in forensic technology, and this one is no different in that regard. It’s a tool that aids both forensic scientists and ballistics experts in examining gunshot wounds, glass breakages, and bullet holes. High-speed ballistics technology aids experts in determining and matching bullet pathways.
It also aids with identifying exit wounds and impact marks on the victims’ bodies. This technology serves well for all crime scene investigators and firearms experts. However, forensic scientists specialize in more sophisticated applications to identify bullet trajectories utilizing this technology.
- HAIR BACTERIA ANALYSIS
Hair bacteria assessment tools allow forensic scientists to gather evidence and identify the culprit with credible proof. Suppose there’s a case where the victim has had forced or consensual sexual contact with the culprit. In that case, their hair samples will get mixed up. Forensic scientists will collect these hair samples to analyze their microbe populations.
This technology allows experts to trace a match in the microbe population of both the victim and the culprit. With this clue, it becomes easier to present evidence against the offender in court.
CONCLUSION
Forensic and criminology are rapidly advancing fields, and the technological applications are strikingly mindblowing. These technologies empower law enforcement personnel and criminal investigations with superior accuracy and precision. Today, forensic nurses can readily identify the extent of physical damage when a patient or body comes in for examination.
Photography tools allow experts to examine the damage underneath the skin to determine causes and weapons. However, experts require specialized training to use these technologies effectively.
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