NCJ Number
187591
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2001 Pages: 16-18
Date Published
February 2001
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article describes the varied duties and technology of the Miami-Dade Police Department's (Florida) Photographic Services Unit of the Forensic Imaging Section, which falls under the umbrella of the Crime Scene Investigations Bureau.
Abstract
This unit provides forensic, studio, and field photography, as well as digital imaging and enhancement of photographic images. The unit is a warehouse or repository for the negatives from crime scenes, including latent fingerprints and photographic and digital mugshot image files. These images are typically printed once and stored on external media, such as CD's and Jaz disks. These are accessible by the department and any of the 30 surrounding municipal, State, and Federal law enforcement agencies within its jurisdiction. The unit also provides all departmental entities with film and photo finishing. The unit's four photographers spend the majority of their time meeting these various photographic needs; they only go to a crime scene if a specialized piece of equipment or technique is required. The department is moving into the digital age and producing photographic lineups on paper. The detective on the case supplies an image of the suspect, and then the unit finds filler pictures that resemble the suspect, scan them into Photoshop, resize the images, alter the backgrounds, and retouch tonal ranges to make the image appear uniform.