Fairfax County Police Department News

“We solved this for you. Your loved one was not forgotten.”

 

Helping solve crimes and bringing closure to victims left behind requires painstaking attention and detail. Amidst a climate of complex technologies, software, and tools-of-the-trade, investigators held their first-ever Northern Virginia Crime Scene Investigators Network meeting at the McConnell Public Safety & Transportation Operations Center.

Amidst frigid temperatures and strong winds on Wednesday morning, 72 professionals from 16 agencies convened at the Fairfax County facility to discuss a wide range of “best practices,” training opportunities, case overviews, and forensic data updates.

Crime Scene Section Supervisor for Fairfax County Police, Second Lieutenant Jim Tanler, convened the group and introduced facilitators. An array of trade-talk on smart camera strategies, tone mapping, advances in fingerprinting, reflective imaging, HDR imaging, lasers; and other ways of drawing out details most of us can’t see.
Karen Ambrozy, Forensic Biology Section Supervisor for the Northern Virginia Laboratory, shared her expertise, advice, and reflections with the group. Discussions surrounding fingernail clippings, hair, blood, and bodily fluids, most appropriate analysis tests, submission policies, documentation issues, along with a DNA-refresher, engaged the group.

Seasoned crime scene detectives from Fairfax County and Prince William Police Departments presented case studies designed to highlight “lessons learned” as far as proven best-practices protecting integrity of evidence, assuring security and chain of custody.
Crime Scene investigators play a pivotal role in an array of cases; from homicides and sexual assaults, to burglaries and robberies, to missing persons and “cold” cases.
They are, often, the “unsung heroes” that are behind the scenes, helping make the cases and doing their part to help keep our communities safe.