State’s Attorney Glasgow partners with Joliet Police Department to purchase state-of-the-art laser scanning system to process crime scenes

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October 18

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow announces that he is partnering with the Joliet Police Department to purchase a state-of-the-art laser scanning system that will dramatically advance the processing of violent crime and crash scenes.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow (from left), Joliet Police Deputy Chief Al Roechner, and Chief Brian Benton, prior to a recent Joliet City Council meeting during which the State’s Attorney announced a $43,089 contribution to help the department pay for a state-of-the-art scanning system to assist evidence technicians in processing crime and crash scenes.

State’s Attorney Glasgow has utilized money he seized from criminals engaged in illegal activities to cover half the cost of the FARO S350 3D Laser Scanner from FARO Technologies in Lake Mary, Florida. The State’s Attorney’s Office has forwarded a check totaling $43,089.42 to pay for half of the $84,200 laser scanning and measurement system.

The phenomenal technology in this package will dramatically advance the ability of the Joliet Police Department’s highly skilled crime scene technicians to quickly process crime and crash scenes with pinpoint accuracy and high-definition detail.

“Effective crime-scene processing is the critical first step in every investigation,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “I have witnessed the application of this technology in several investigations in the past several months, and I believe it to be one of the most significant law enforcement developments in years.

Evidence technicians at a murder scene will spend hours taking photographs and video, making meticulous measurements, and drawing detailed diagrams. The same is true for collision reconstruction specialists at vehicle crash scenes, some of which can span several city blocks or long stretches of rural road. This 21st Century technology, in their skilled hands, will substantially reduce the amount of time it takes them to document these scenes for investigation and prosecution purposes. Furthermore, the FARO system will enhance their accuracy down to the millimeter and provide a recorded perspective of crime or crash scenes that is unprecedented.

“My prosecutors will be able to lay the foundation to use these records at trial, giving judges and jurors incredibly detailed three-dimensional views of these crime scenes,” the State’s Attorney said. “We will literally be taking the jury to a crime scene, not after-the-fact as has historically been done in the past, but at the exact moment that all the relevant evidence is still in its original location.”

“The Joliet Police Department is committed to delivering the highest level of professionalism in Public Safety,” said Police Chief Brian Benton. “This state-of-the art crime scene technology will help us in our efforts and we appreciate States Attorney Glasgow’s continued support.” 

The State’s Attorney’s contribution for this system uses no taxpayer dollars. “Instead, I am using money I have seized from criminals who were engaged in illegal activities in our county,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “I can think of no more appropriate use for such money than to assist Will County’s largest police department in solving violent crimes and taking dangerous criminals off our streets.”