The TV series Crime are becoming more and more generous with details and plausible, but there is an investigative technique that you will not often see.
It's about forensic architecture. Yet this method will be increasingly used to recreate crime and accidents in the future of criminology.
In summary: in the future of criminology, techniques using virtual reality and artificial intelligence will play a key role. Reconstructing crime scenes could become a regular component of police investigative work, especially if there are discrepancies in witness testimony. The technique could also be useful in helping pinpoint any liability in missing video footage cases. While not foolproof, forensic architecture could be a valuable tool in the arsenal of both law enforcement and citizens' rights groups.
The Mark Duggan case
A forensic research agency called Forensic Architecture recently provided a taste of tomorrow. The agency reconstructed the 29 murder of 2011-year-old Mark Duggan by undercover police officers, an event that sparked violent riots in London.
Using virtual reality reconstruction, the company demonstrated that the official police results of the young man's death lacked several details.
The reconstruction
Duggan was shot by the police after the minicab he was traveling on was forced to stop. Police officers shot Duggan after he got out of the taxi, later claiming he was brandishing a gun.
After his death, a gun wrapped in a sock is found 7 meters from his body. However, no DNA evidence linking the gun to Duggan is ever found. An investigation and a subsequent investigation into the murder conclude that Duggan is shot while he was shooting the gun.
Forensic architecture used testimonials, expert reports and videos, photographs and hand-drawn plans to build an animated virtual reality environment of the shooting scene.
The future of criminology: real murder, VR scenario
Forensic Architecture then used this model to test different possible scenarios of what happened. After doing so, the agency concluded that Duggan could not physically restrain the gun at the time of being shot dead by the police. More importantly, it is very unlikely that he could have fired the gun where he was later found.
The founder of Forensic Architecture Eyal Weizman he described the work of the groups as a demonstration that "independent civil society groups, equipped with new media technologies, are able to (even) take account of the police and their supervisory bodies. This will also serve forensic architecture in the future of criminology. Recent events in the U.S. and elsewhere show that this is more necessary than ever. "
