Police Demo New FujiFilm ‘CSI’ Camera

The November 29 press conference at the Westchester police academy could have been a segment from an episode of “CSI,” where TV viewers get to watch as investigators find and collect evidence, analyze it and catch the bad guy — all in less than one hour. Instead, it was a real life demonstration, during which County Executive Andy Spano showed how a cutting-edge camera donated by FUJIFILM U.S.A. Inc. will help County police investigators in solving crimes.

The new, high-tech investigative tool – the Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro UVIR camera (price ~$1800 body only) – is the world’s first production digital camera that can take both ultraviolet and infrared pictures used to detect hidden blood stains, gunshot residue and other evidence unseen by the human eye. Because the camera is able to capture images at a crime scene as well as in the lab, police will also be able to uncover and analyze evidence more accurately and with quicker results, which can lead to quicker convictions.

“Crime scene investigation is a tough job that requires good logic and strong skills,” Spano said. Investigators can be called in any time of the day or night to scour a crime scene or to assist one of 42 municipal police departments in finding clues and analyzing evidence that is necessary to solve a case and get a conviction. This camera will enable us to gather evidence while it’s still fresh on the scene.”

Last year, the County Police Forensic Investigations unit handled more than 60 crime scene investigations, each of which took anywhere from a few hours to several days to process depending on the scope of the scene. Using this camera will greatly reduce the amount of time spent at a crime scene, said Spano.

Westchester is among the first police departments in the state to have this evidence gathering technology.

Police Commissioner Tom Belfiore said, ‘Crime scene investigation is a long, tedious process that requires accurate documentation of the conditions at the scene and preservation and analyzation of the physical evidence that is collected at the site. The quicker evidence can be collected, the quicker we’ll get the information needed for investigators to crack the case and get criminals off the street.’

Until now, infrared and ultraviolet images had to be taken with special ultraviolet and infrared film, which was effective but difficult, sensitive and time consuming.

“What’s great about this camera is that police will be able to gather evidence and analyze it right at the crime scene,” said Spano.

Mock crime scene evidence was used to set the stage for police investigators from the county’s Forensics Investigative Unit to demonstrate the Fujifilm camera in action. Investigators showed how the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR camera was able to detect hidden blood spots on a black shirt, previously unseen gunshot residue, buried bones and the handiwork of a check forger.

With its live preview feature, the FinePix S3 Pro UVIR is a new and helpful tool for forensics investigators, law enforcement organizations, research department and government agencies. More details at FujiFilm.