Did you know… that Cumbria Constabulary’s Scientific Support Unit takes around 100,000 crime scene photographs and 4,000 fingerprint exhibits each year?

The second week of Cumbria Constabulary’s Did you know… campaign provides an inside look at the specialist teams that support Cumbria Constabulary’s criminal investigations.

The campaign was launched last week with Cumbria Constabulary’s ‘Crime Command’ to provide communities with an insight into the work that goes on behind the scenes to tackle drugs across the county and keep people safe.

This week the campaign continues by offering the public a taste of the life of the specialist officers and staff within the Constabulary’s Scientific Support Unit who examine more than 9,000 crime scenes every year to provide detectives with photographic, fingerprint, footwear and forensic evidence to help convict criminals.

Did you know… that Cumbria Constabulary’s Scientific Support Unit:

·         Examines more than 9,000 crime scenes every year?

·         Includes a team of Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) who provide 24 hour cover, seven days a week and have more than 300 years’ experience between them?

·         Has CSIs who are all trained photographers who each take an average of 5,000 photographs per year to help solve crime in the county?

·         Took between 100,000-115,000 photographs of crime scenes around the county during 2011/12?

·         Detected more than 452 crimes in 2011 by submitting forensic evidence in the form of fingerprints and DNA?

·         Handles almost 4000 fingerprint and footwear exhibits per year?

·         Submitted 5380 CCTV discs to help secure convictions in 2011?

·         Also provides identification services (fingerprinting and footwear examination) for police in the Isle of Man?

·         Forensic department deals with more than just DNA. Expert detectives and staff also examine fibres, debris, glass fragments, tyre marks, footwear, firearms, mobile phones and Computers to help catch criminals?

Richard San José is the Scientific Support Manager of Cumbria Constabulary’s Scientific Support Unit. He said “The unit is made up of several teams and specialists who work to provide detectives with the evidence they need to identify criminals and take them to court.

“The work of the Scientific Support Unit is unseen but is vitally important. We have Crime Scene Investigators who work 24/7 alongside detectives to gather evidence. They are often one of the first to arrive at a scene of a crime and work under pressure and often in difficult circumstances to find evidence at the earliest opportunity. This involves taking photographs and conducting meticulous examinations of areas for forensic evidence, fingerprints and footwear marks to take back to Headquarters for processing.

“The CSI officers are spread across all of Cumbria from Carlisle in the north, Workington in the west and as far south as Barrow. They are all qualified photographers who have also had specialist training to deal with terrorist incidents involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats as well as explosive and firearm training. Thankfully, these skills are rarely required as crimes of this nature are few and far between in our county.

“In addition to Crime Scene Investigators, we also have fingerprint experts and footwear specialists who are trained to identify the type of shoe a criminal was wearing – just from small tracks or imprints left at a scene.

“On more rare occasions we can also utilise the expertise of our external Forensic Service Providers to use unique technologies such as radio carbon dating to determine the approximate age of archaeological items like bones that may be recovered in the county. For example, in 2009 some skeletal remains were found at Hodbarrow point near Millom which was investigated as a possible crime. The bones were carefully excavated from a sandbank by CSI aided by forensic anthropologists and archaeologists, who identified that the bones were human and probably belonging to more than one individual. Thanks to radio carbon dating, we were able to reliably inform officers that this was not a crime as the remains were estimated to be from the Bronze Age. They were between 3,500 and 5,000 years old.

“Although Cumbria is a small force that is fortunate enough to have some of the lowest crime rates in the country, we have highly trained specialists who use our own laboratories and forensic units to help officers track down criminals in Cumbria.

“We attended 9000 crime scenes in 2011 and took over 100,000 images and handled 4000 fingerprint exhibits – all to ensure police officers can track down criminals and put them behind bars.”

Did you know…? continues to focus on the Crime Command next week when it will highlight the work that goes on the Constabulary’s Public Protection Departments.

Posters raising awareness of the work of the Constabulary will be distributed across police stations and in key places amongst communities such as libraries, doctors’ surgeries and leisure centres throughout the campaign.

The campaign will be extended onto the Constabulary’s social networking accounts with dedicated ‘tweetdays’ and webchats.