(Norcross, Ga., 28 March 2008)  The popular Real-Life series, CRIME 360 from A&E once again featured the Leica Geosystems ScanStation, a state-of-the-art forensic 3D laser scanner in its latest episode, ‘Deadly Secrets’ which aired March 20, 2008. 

In this episode, detectives are called to a crime scene in a suburban neighborhood late one night.  A young male was found shot outside of his grandmother’s house and left between the hedges and the porch. Visible evidence includes seven bullet casings strewn about the front yard.

To preserve the scene, detectives immediately look to laser scan the entire scene with the ScanStation thereby permanently recording the location of the body relative to the house, porch, shrubbery, and bullet casing in a 3D tableau. Fortunately, the long-range 3D laser scanning system operates equally well in both bright sunshine and the dark of night.  During the initial crime scene investigation, the scanner's green laser was clearly visible sweeping over the victim and other evidence.

As detectives investigate the immediate area, they discover clues of the victim's alternative lifestyle – and they wonder if there may be a connection between that and his murder. Throughout the one-hour episode, viewers follow detectives as they interview witnesses, learn more about the victim’s lifestyle and come up with possible motives – and a suspect.

Armed with additional information, investigators virtually return to the 3D digital scene using Leica’s Cyclone point cloud processing software multiple times, assessing the relative location of the spent casings to surrounding objects as they develop a theory for how events unfolded.

“This exciting new series is putting the spotlight on our cutting-edge 3D laser scanning technology which many police agencies feel is the future of forensic mapping." says Tony Grissim, Forensic Account Manager for Leica Geosystems.  “The videos found on our new forensic web site at http://www.leica-geosystems.com/us/forensic have gone a long way to better educating the law enforcement community about this powerful tool for law enforcement and homeland security applications."

For more information about the use of 3D laser scanning in forensic analysis, visit http://www.leica-geosystems.us/forensic.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right
With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.

Those who use Leica products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 2,400 employees in 22 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.