Crime Scene Investigators

Despite the newfound fame and popularity generated from the TV shows, crime scene investigators are perhaps the most overlooked and under-appreciated members of the crime solving team.  Their role is important and they can be crucial to the success of the investigation.  Most detectives will tell you that a knowledgeable and trained CSI can make or break a case, and the ones that are fully utilizing the M-Vac^® and its DNA collection capabilities in the evidence collection process are finding great success.  Reports of crime scene investigators collecting DNA material from rocks, bricks, wigs, cement, all types of fabrics and other rough or porous surfaces are coming in on a regular basis, and helping solve crimes that otherwise may never have been solved.  In 2015 alone, over 18 profiles, most from cold cases, have been able to move cases forward due to the DNA an M-Vac^® System collected.  A number of the cases were homicides, but there were also rapes and assaults that were solved, and the M-Vac^® System was used to collect the DNA material from key evidence in those cases.

If there is ample DNA material present, such as a blood spatter or a visible stain, using a traditional collection method would clearly be appropriate. However, in situations where the swabbing, cutting, taping or scraping methods have been unreliable in producing positive results, it may be more effective to use the M-Vac^® System first.  If it wasn't used first and the lab results from traditional methods come back as negative or inconclusive and there is reason to believe DNA material was deposited, give your case another chance by using the M-Vac^®.   It dramatically improves the chance of generating a DNA profile, especially on rough, porous or large surfaces.

Below is a short video of an investigative team (detective and Senior CSI) from Colorado that have successfully utilized the M-Vac^® System in their investigations.