Chenango County Sheriff’s Office Has New, Cutting Edge Investigations Tool

CHENANGO COUNTY – The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office is among the first law enforcement groups in New York State to employ a new cutting edge crime scene investigations tool that could redefine how police collect evidence. Sheriff Ernest R. Cutting Jr. recently announced the acquisition of the Trimble X7 laser scanner and software suite. As the world progresses in digital transformation so does this agency with the capabilities of swift, accurate and safe real time data collection through a variety of applications. Sheriff Cutting envisioned and planned to update the aging resources currently in use and the Trimble X7 represent that change with the most up to date capabilities that will reduce the time for crime scene mapping all while maintaining the integrity of the scene.  This equipment can also assist fire investigations and any other event requiring scene mapping. With this device, the future is in our hands now. What is more, we are no longer talking about solutions, we are creating them. Sergeant Dustin Smietana of the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office assisted another agency with a motorcycle crash and he noted that the total time spent on scene from arriving, collecting seven scans and leaving was 32 minutes. He also noted that everyone at the scene was impressed with the speed, accuracy and ease of use of the Trimble X7. The advantage to the community is that a busy roadway was only shut down for under an hour compared to five hours or more with their previous resources and Sgt. Smietana would still only have about 100 data points collected and still photographs lacking any usable dimensions. Getting this equipment was like landing on the moon, it was a giant leap for all! The data collected is irrefutable and the scene has been preserved as workable point cloud forever. The Trimble X7 cannot be praised enough. I look forward to expanding our use of this powerful tool as we roll out more training within our agency. The Chenango County Sheriff’s Office is fully committed to Trimble and Keystone Precision Solutions keeping us on the cutting edge of forensic solutions. Sgt. Dustin Smietana In his media release, Sheriff Cutting thanked Investigators Sersen and Telfer of the New York State Police Collision Reconstruction Unit along with Jim Gager of Keystone Precision Solutions for their assistance and guidance in developing a system to aid Chenango County Sheriff's Office in reaching sound, evidence based conclusions.