The influx of television shows that deal with crime scenes seems to be never ending. The incredibly intelligent forensic scientists notice the smallest conceivable detail and solve the case with stunning accuracy. TV has a long history of wrapping things up in a nice, marketable, package that keeps viewers coming back every week to follow their favorite agent and his fight for justice. There are a lot of disputes out there about how accurate the situations on these popular TV shows compared to real life. The consensus seems to be that a lot of liberties are taken with the tactics used in the name of good TV.
GIS Surveying of Crime Scenes
In the real world where most of us live, crime scenes are far more complicated than it would appear on TV. There are many factors at play in a real-life crime scene but all investigations require a map of the area. These areas could be a bathroom in a restaurant or a square mile in the middle of a cornfield. In either location, a comprehensive map must be made for complete documentation of important points. The days of graph paper are gone and have been replaced by GIS, 3D laser scanning and GPS technology.
Advantages
The biggest advantage of mapping a crime scene with 3D laser or GIS technology is the accuracy of the results. On TV when bullet casings litter the street, numbered cards are placed over the top of each. With a GIS based map each point is saved in real time and added to the map with GPS . Bearing Tree is Oklahoma City’s land surveying and aerial mapping experts and can provide crime scene mapping.
