Local police forces get new technology – KTVL

Part of a Faro Scanner at the Jackson County Sheriff's Office KTVL/Alexander Mesadieu

Jackson County, Ore.- The Jackson County Sheriff's office along with Medford Area Drug and Gang Enforcement Task Force (MADGE), just got a new gadget.

It's called the Faro Scanner, it's a machine that recreates crashes and crime scenes in 3-d technology.

"The advantage is the huge amount of information we're recording and capturing so we can use it in the future if we need to. That kind of information was just not captured in the past," said David Rathbun, Community Service Officer with the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

The information captured on the Faro Scanner can be used as evidence in court, taking juries to the scene of a crime with accurate measurements and a 3-d view of the scene.

"You can actually show the jury [and say] 'ok now we're going to walk you through this crime scene,' or walk you through this car accident scene, and show you where everything was at the time that the scan was taken."Rathbun said.

The technology has already been used in two crashes.

The first was the Greyhound crash in Central Point, the last one was at a crash a outside of Rogue River.

The Sheriff's office plans to use the Faro Scanner in cases of homicide, officer involved shootings, and car crashes.

The Faro Scanner cost around 70 thousand dollars, it was paid for by money from drug proceeds seized during cases.

All police departments that participate in MADGE can borrow the Faro Scanner when it is necessary for their cases.

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Local police forces get new technology - KTVL