Using VIS/NIR and IR spectral cameras for detecting and separating crime scene details

Jaana Kuula; Ilkka Pölönen; Hannu-Heikki Puupponen; Tuomas Selander; Tapani Reinikainen; Tapani Kalenius; Heikki Saari

doi:10.1117/12.918555

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18 June 2012 Using VIS/NIR and IR spectral cameras for detecting and separating crime scene details

Jaana Kuula, Ilkka Pölönen, Hannu-Heikki Puupponen, Tuomas Selander, Tapani Reinikainen, Tapani Kalenius, Heikki Saari

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Proceedings Volume 8359, Sensors, and Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Technologies for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense XI; 83590P (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.918555
Event: SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing, 2012, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Abstract

Detecting invisible details and separating mixed evidence is critical for forensic inspection. If this can be done reliably and fast at the crime scene, irrelevant objects do not require further examination at the laboratory. This will speed up the inspection process and release resources for other critical tasks. This article reports on tests which have been carried out at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland together with the Central Finland Police Department and the National Bureau of Investigation for detecting and separating forensic details with hyperspectral technology. In the tests evidence was sought after at an assumed violent burglary scene with the use of VTT's 500-900 nm wavelength VNIR camera, Specim's 400- 1000 nm VNIR camera, and Specim's 1000-2500 nm SWIR camera. The tested details were dried blood on a ceramic plate, a stain of four types of mixed and absorbed blood, and blood which had been washed off a table. Other examined details included untreated latent fingerprints, gunshot residue, primer residue, and layered paint on small pieces of wood. All cameras could detect visible details and separate mixed paint. The SWIR camera could also separate four types of human and animal blood which were mixed in the same stain and absorbed into a fabric. None of the cameras could however detect primer residue, untreated latent fingerprints, or blood that had been washed off. The results are encouraging and indicate the need for further studies. The results also emphasize the importance of creating optimal imaging conditions into the crime scene for each kind of subjects and backgrounds.

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Jaana Kuula, Ilkka Pölönen, Hannu-Heikki Puupponen, Tuomas Selander, Tapani Reinikainen, Tapani Kalenius, and Heikki Saari "Using VIS/NIR and IR spectral cameras for detecting and separating crime scene details", Proc. SPIE 8359, Sensors, and Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (C3I) Technologies for Homeland Security and Homeland Defense XI, 83590P (18 June 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.918555

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