Forensics Conference

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Forensic science officers have gathered to share their know-how in the rapidly advancing techniques of forensic science. In our next story, we take you into the inaugural academic conference of the Korean Police Academy of Scientific Criminal Investigation.

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Forensic police officers are called to a scene where four family members were killed in a fire at 11 p.m. With no signs of an intrusion or scuffle inside the residence, the case had gone cold. The only clues were components of paint thinner and fiber collected from the deceased mother's hand.

[Soundbite] Ins. Lee Sang-jun(Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency) : "When a flammable liquid evaporates, it is dispersed in gaseous form. This can be ignited by even a small amount of energy."

It was determined that the cause of the fire was the accumulation of oil mist that resulted from cleaning floors using thinner in a sealed apartment unit in the winter. Forensic officers can also retrieve hard disc data deleted just before a search operation, and locate missing people using three dimensional composite sketches of the person's likely future appearance. Approximately 20 such case studies were unveiled during a gathering of forensic officers and related experts from across the nation.

[Soundbite] Sen. Supt. Song Ho-rim(National Police Agency) : "Mutual expertise can be sharply boosted by sharing information on one another's varied experiences, academic research activities and procedures for scientific investigation."

Forensic science is advancing by the day. By restoring lost pieces of evidence, scientific investigation greatly contributes to raising the apprehension rate of criminals each year.