Low-Cost CSI Using Forensic GPR, 3D Reconstruction, and GIS
- 1 Archaeology and Classics Program, American University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- 2 Geoscienze Forensi Italia ® -Forensic Geoscience Italy, Rome, Italy
- 3 AcISF-Accademia Italiana di Scienze Forensi, Reggio Emilia, Italy
Abstract
At a time in which several law enforcement agencies all around the world are facing severe expenditure reviews, the increasing use of low-cost solutions during crime scene investigations (CSI) can be a sustainable solution without being detracting from a scientific and rigorous forensic approach. Recently, some private companies are trying to satisfy the growing needs of the police to have cheaper and faster techniques to survey crime scenes and to obtain results with scientifically high-level outputs, more or less comparable with similar outputs from more expensive instruments. This paper reported results from a crime scene in which a low-cost GPR instrument, a free 3D photogrammetry software, and an open-source geographical information system (GIS) were deployed. The collection, processing, and analyses of these data will provide a very promising starting point for future low-cost and professional applications.
- Van Dijk, J.J.M. (2008) The World of Crime; Breaking the Silence on Problems of Crime, Justice and Development. Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483329789
- House of Commons (2005) Forensic Science on Trial. Science and Technology Committee, London, UK, 1-98.
- Fraser, J. and Williams, R. (2009) Handbook of Forensic Science. Willan, London.
- Fraser, J. (2010) Forensic Science: A Very Short Introduction. OUP, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780199558056.001.0001
- Barone, P.M. (2016) Understanding Buried Anomalies: A Practical Guide to GPR. LAP Lambert Academic Publishers, Saarbrücken.
- Barone, P.M. and Groen, M. (2018) Multidisciplinary Approaches to Forensic Archaelology. Topics Discussed during the European Meetings on Forensic Archaeology (EMFA), Soil Forensics Series, Springer International Publishing, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94397-8
- Sturdy Colls, C. (2015) Holocaust Archaeologies: Approaches and Future Directions. Springer, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10641-0
- Di Maggio, R.M. and Barone, P.M. (2017) Geoscientists at Crime Scenes. A Companion to Forensic Geoscience, Soil Forensics Series, Springer International Publishing, Berlin. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58048-7
- Barone, P.M., Di Maggio, R.M. and Ferrara, C. (2015) Not Necessarily Buried Bodies: Forensic GPR Investigations from Criminal to Civil Justice. Proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Advanced Ground Penetrating Radar, Florence, 7-10 July 2015, 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1109/IWAGPR.2015.7292681
- Di Maggio, R.M., Donnelly, L.J., Al Nuaimi, K.S., Barone, P.M., et al. (2017) Global Developments in Forensic Geology. Episodes, 40, 120-131. https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2017/v40i2/017014
- Agbenyega, J. (2011) Forensic Research Funding Cuts. Materials Today, 14, 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-7021(11)70001-3
- Barone, P.M. and Di Maggio, R.M. (2019) Dealing with Different Forensic Targets: Geoscientists at Crime Scenes. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 492. https://doi.org/10.1144/SP492-2017-274
- Ruffell, A. and McKinley, J. (2008) Geoforensic. John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Hoboken. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470758854