The Town of DeWitt Police Department
Accident Investigation Team
The Town of DeWitt Police Department uses an Accident Investigation Team to investigate serious personal injury or fatal motor vehicle accidents. The Team consists of four members; a Sergeant who acts as the team supervisor, and three Officers or Investigators. All of the members are trained in the use of a Nikon TotalStation, and are certified as Accident Investigation Technicians by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services; in addition, two of the members have received additional training and are certified as Evidence Technicians and Accident Reconstructionists. All members of the team are on call 24 hours a day. In addition, if the Team is used at a crime scene, one of the department’s other Evidence Technicians is also trained in the use of the TotalStation, and will assist the team in investigating the scene.
The Team uses the Nikon TotalStation in diagramming accident scenes. The Team has also been used at large outdoor scenes where accurate recording of the location of evidence is required. The TotalStation is a sophisticated surveying instrument that has been adapted for use by many police departments for the accurate recording of evidence at an accident or crime scene. At a scene, one member will operate the TotalStation, while other members will assist in locating items of evidence to be recorded. The TotalStation prism pole is used to designate particular points or items to be recorded. The information recorded in the TotalStation can then be downloaded into specialized accident and crime scene investigation software, which automatically generates a highly accurate scale diagram of the scene.
Previously, when accident scenes would need to be measured, the measurements were recorded by hand with measuring tape. The measurements then had to be transposed into a hand drawn scale diagram, a very time consuming process. The TotalStation and special software, which the department has used since 2004, has allowed the department to investigate accident scenes in a quicker and more accurate manner, with more precise results.
|