Digitization is continuously leading to advances in how forensic science documents information. For example, it is now standard practice to digitize data from crime and accident scenes with the help of 3D technologies such as laser scanners or drones. However, it is not just locations that can be 3D-digitized, but also objects and people. That involves using documentation techniques borrowed from surveying and from medicine, grouped together under the term “forensic imaging.” In addition to computed tomography and structured-light scanning, this also includes photogrammetry, which is particularly user-friendly.

Modern computer technology helps forensic pathologists and other forensic experts to represent findings from the data captured with the help of 3D specialists and to assess the plausibility of their event reconstructions – for example at the 3D Center Zurich (www.3dzz.ch), a competence center under the aegis of the Institute of Forensic Medicine Zurich and the Zurich Forensic Science Institute. The results can also be discussed with other specialists and expert witnesses in virtual reality and the procedures can be adapted interactively.

In court, this kind of expert opinion, along with the relevant graphics, can convey visually how the trace evidence has been interpreted or even serve to present a detailed explanation with the help of virtual reality glasses. Using 3D data makes it easy, for example, to adopt different perspectives or to understand what could be seen from a particular vantage point. That helps all parties involved to discuss the course of events and their interpretation, and, if necessary, to flag and test alternative hypotheses. As a result, 3D digitization can contribute to solving crimes rapidly and cost-effectively.