‘ClearCase' technology helps Volusia Sheriff's Office solve shootings faster
The Brief
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office is the first in the nation to use ClearCase, a new forensic tool that speeds up shell casing analysis at crime scenes.
Investigators can take pictures of shell casings with a phone, log the data in a national firearm database, and use the ClearCase machine to determine if casings match a specific firearm.
This technology significantly reduces forensic processing time from weeks or months to just hours, enhancing law enforcement's ability to solve crimes quickly.
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - A new device called ClearCase helps the Volusia County Sheriff's Office launch forensic investigations faster than ever.
What we know
VCSO Deputy Chief Brian Henderson said the initiative, carried out through a partnership between LeadsOnline and VCSO, is the department's latest effort to remain on the cutting edge of criminal investigation.
"We have a sheriff that made a commitment many years ago that we will try every tool that's out there that's legally available to us to stop violent crime," Henderson said.
The department is the first in the nation to deploy the technology. The program revolves around the testing of shell casings left at crime scenes. With the use of a cell phone, investigators are able to take pictures and record the location and amount of shell casings at a given scene.
That information, along with other data, is later logged in a national firearm database, allowing agencies to collaborate during the investigation of crimes. For instance, if a shooting were to occur in Daytona Beach, the shell casings could be traced back to another incident in Georgia.
"This is like DNA for a gun," Henderson said.
After pictures are taken, the casings are then labeled and placed into the ClearCase machine.
"[The] machine then triages them to determine if they all could be fired from the same firearm or different firearms," he said.
The machine detects the unique markings left behind when a bullet is fired. In the past, according to Henderson, getting information such as that could take weeks or even months due to a logjam in their branch of the FDLE, which services all of Central Florida.
The process is now cut down to a matter of hours.
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The Source
The information in this article comes from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office and reporting done by FOX 35's Chris Lindsay.
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