ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 9, 1996 TAG: 9605090065
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JENNIFER MILLER STAFF WRITER
SCENES OF WRECKS will be easier to map out in Roanoke County, thanks to new infrared equipment.
Traffic may be moving faster around accidents in Roanoke County thanks to new high-tech equipment donated to the Police Department.
Total Station is a $14,000 infrared prism that reduces the time officers spend re-creating accident scenes. Roanoke Moose Lodge No. 284 donated it in March. Wednesday, seven county officers began training on the equipment, which they expect to begin using Monday.
Before, officers could spend four to five hours measuring an accident scene by hand. If the weather was bad, they often couldn't get accurate results.
With the new equipment, they can investigate an accident scene within an hour, in any weather, said Roanoke County Police Chief John Cease. They won't have to stop traffic for so long while they investigate, and the data-gathering is more accurate than the current manual method.
"I think it is going to be a big advantage in the courtroom," Cease said. "We can bring information inside the courtroom with us. We won't need outside experts."
There aren't many major accidents - or violent crimes - in Roanoke County. But officers will begin collecting data from major intersections and storing it in the computer. That way, when accidents occur, police will already have a detailed diagram of the accident scene, Cease said.
Roanoke County is one of two police departments in the state to have the equipment. The Fairfax County Police Department was the first.
Other law enforcement agencies that have used the equipment say it has reduced investigative time and human error. In Maryland it helps accident investigation crews survey an entire scene in half the normal time, according to Maryland State Trooper Joe Hancock.
"When we are at a traffic scene, our main goal is to restore traffic flow as quickly as possible," Hancock said. The equipment usually allows them to clear a scene within a half-hour to an hour, compared with the couple of hours it takes when two people map out an entire scene by hand.
Officials at the Roanoke Moose Lodge said they donated the money as part of their efforts to help the community.
"I called Chief Cease and asked him `What do you need?''' said David Simmons, Moose Lodge Community Service chairman.
The club, which donates $75,000 to $80,000 annually to various groups for community service, also bought foul-weather gear for the Roanoke County SWAT team earlier this year.
"You couldn't have bought a tool for us that could have been more of an investment," Cease said. "This is something we wouldn't have bought with the regular police budget."
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Mike Capman (center), an instructorby CNBwith Chicago-based Kara Co., shows Roanoke County Police officers
Matt Viar (left) and Mike Dull how to use a new accident-scene
mapping system called Total Station. Roanoke Moose Lodge No. 284
donated the equipment in March.