• Question: what equipment do you use for your work?

    Asked by sophieawills to Jamie, Mark on 18 Mar 2011 in Categories: . This question was also asked by mollycreegann.
    • Photo: Mark Hill

      Mark Hill answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hello Sophia and Molly,

      I am sorry if this question was asked this morning. I was not able to answer it in time. It is a good question, so thank you for asking it again.

      I use chalk and spray paint to mark tyre marks on the road, cameras, sometimes digital microscopes at the scene, electronic survey equipment, tape measures, thermometers, anemometers, mechanics tools, trolley jacks, recovery company tow trucks and cranes, and scenes of crime gear, such as brushes, plaster casts, gel lifts etc..

      When I get back to the office and the lab, I may use compound microscopes, CAD computer packages for plan drawing, my trusty calculator, workshop, to thoroughly examine vehicles, lab for examining tyres, light bulbs, speedometers, data recorders and other such things.

      I will research scientific journals on-line and research through my library of specialist books.

      Then, if the collision is at night,I have spot lights on top of the Ford Galaxy that I am given to use, and flood lighting units that I carry inside.

      I also carry body bags and various evidence bags for bits and bobs, but you won’t want to know about those. SOCO suits, boots and clothing are also on board.

      The Galaxy that I use is full of equipment, which is all used at some time or another.

      I hope that this helps.

      Mark.

    • Photo: Jamie Pringle

      Jamie Pringle answered on 18 Mar 2011:

      Hello sophieawills & mollycreegann,

      Interesting question! It depends what i am looking for.

      If it is just a simple weapon search, then a metal detector may do the job.

      If you are looking for non-metallic buried objects, then perhaps a ground penetrating radar instrument may be best, the one I have next to my head in my photo profile. This pulses an electro-magnetic wave into the ground, and hopefully reflects off the target object and you can see where it is buried. Obviously it is not quite as simple as that, as you get reflections off lots of other targets as well.

      Lastly if you have a big search area, then you may want to use different bits of equipment. Electrical resistivity methods is one solution, putting a small current into the ground and measuring voltage between two probes using a resistivity meter. If there is something buried (especially bodies which decompositional fluids are very conductive), then you may find this has a different voltage reading than surrounding material. You can then do follow up surveys on the anomalous areas identified by this method.

      It therefore depends what you are looking for, and how big the survey area is, which will determine what technique you use.

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