VR Forensics

The ability to document crime scene environments in a safe, timely and efficient manner is an integral aspect in the early stages of any criminal investigation and can ultimately determine the success of the subsequent investigation. Crime scenes often present unstable and short-lived environments, containing ephemeral evidence, which can prove difficult for Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO’s) to document efficiently.

The first stage of this project developed a working prototype to test the viability of a VR alternative to capturing crime scene visual data. Together with Dr James Clery of Clery Forensic Research, a ‘kill room’ was mocked up to establish the most appropriate way to capture complex visual information within a crime scene setting. To ensure justice the documentation process must provide a thorough and permanent record of the scene, comprising written, graphical, photographic, and video evidence of all contextual information. This requires effective communication of the crime scene environment and the distribution of evidence to other individuals who were not present at the scene. Crime scene processing traditionally uses 2D photographs, sketches, and texts. More recently, 360° visualisation technology and 3D modelling from lidar scanning are being used although the approximation of the image made through the rendering process can conceal crucial crime scene evidence. The adoption of such new technologies within police services is driving the need to improve efficiency and effectiveness both for forensic scientists, police and the jury within the criminal justice system.

Support from an Innovation Award from Santander helped fund the development of a 360 VR interactive data management system for the field of forensics. This was tested in a high-profile case in Aug 2021 with the London Metropolitan Police. Stage two of this project will assess the efficacy of current VR and 360 video technologies to capture scene-of-crime data with sufficient fidelity to satisfy the demands of jurisprudence and be professionally accredited for use as evidence. It will also develop a newer iteration of the data management system.

Consultancy included:

Research, development and testing of VR forensic data management system.