Modern technology is offering investigators new and improved means of catching criminals.
Forensic technologies in 2024 are so advanced at helping to solve crimes that they seem like something from a science-fiction thriller.
In fact, crimes too are evolving with modern technology. For instance, earlier this year, police investigated a ‘virtual rape,’ which allegedly occurred when a group of men attacked a young girl’s avatar in a virtual reality room.
Investigators are using technology such as retinal scanning and even AI in order to bring criminals to justice – some of which have been on-the-loose for 15 years.
Here, Metro takes a look at some of the most impressive criminal-catching modern methods.
A life-size hologram
Amsterdam police are using a life-size hologram, for the first time, to try and catch a murderer.
Bernadett ‘Betty’ Szabo, 19, was stabbed multiple times in Amsterdam, on February 19, 2009, and was ‘brutally murdered in her workplace’.
Two colleagues noticed she wasn’t in her normal spot on the night she was killed on the Oudezijds Achterburgwal so decided to check in on her. They found Ms
A major investigation was launched which involved speaking to witnesses and Szabo lying in a pool of blood.
The case went cold when police were unable to solve it.
But now, Amsterdam police are using a life-size hologram in their ‘final attempt to find the perpetrator.’
The hologram will be projected behind a window at an intersection close to where Ms Szabo was killed from today.
Screens will also show footage of the crime scene and large window stickers will provide information about Ms Szabo and her death.
Amsterdam Police hope it will ‘help people feel a connection to her’ and encourage them to come forward.
It is currently unclear whether any other police force around the world have used such technology.
Eline Roovers, communications adviser for Amsterdam Police, told Sky News the force is in ‘close contact’ with Ms Szabo’s family and they have given their ‘approval and faith’ to start this part of the investigation.
She said: ‘They really appreciate our efforts and see this as a hopeful sign that justice might still be able to prevail.’
She added that it is never too late for people to come forward and said people who commit a crime usually tell multiple people.
Ms Szabo moved to Amsterdam from Hungary when she was 18 in 2008 and became a sex worker in the city’s red light district.
Anne Dreijer-Heemskerk from the cold case team said: ‘While every murder case is tragic, Betty’s story is especially moving.
‘A young woman, only 19, taken from life in such a horrific way. She already had a difficult life, working long hours as a sex worker and continuing until shortly before the birth of her son.
‘Her son was placed in foster care and never had the chance to know his mother.’
Police are keen to hear from anybody who may have been visiting the red light district at the time – an area which is popular with tourists from across the world.
There is a £25,000 (€30,000) reward for anybody who may have information about the murder of Ms Szabo.
Automated Firearm Identification
This advanced system allows investigators to automatically match bullets with the gun they fired from.
Previously, detectives and police forces used traditional methods such as comparison microscopes to put together evidence, but the Automatic Firearm Identification system is a much quicker and efficient method of doing so.
The new technology is currently being used extensively in the solving of fire-arms related violent crimes.
Artificial Intelligence
AI seems to be the buzzword of the 2020s, supposedly making everything more efficient and streamlined.
But in the case of solving crimes, it really does make a difference.
While AI has been used in many other fields for decades, it is relatively new to forensic science.
Recent advancements in the technology have seen it used successfully in every forensic method of a criminal case.
AI is now commonly put to use to analyse crime scenes, compare fingerprint data and draw conclusions from photograph comparisons.
Foldscope
The foldscope microscope is not a new invention, but has recently found its way into the world of forensic science.
The technology can be used in the field to make on-the-spot determinations about forensic samples, including blood, hair and soil.
Foldscope conclusions are only preliminary, but can be crucial during early parts of an investigation in speeding up the discovery of a criminal or murder weapon.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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