When Andy Maloney first developed HemoSpat, the latest software for blood stain analysis, he planned to upgrade the current system being used by Ottawa police.
HemoSpat is now improving crime scenes worldwide and classrooms at the Ontario Police College, but Ottawa police has yet to update its system.
The idea for the state-of-the-art software first came to Maloney after his brother, Ottawa police Sgt. Kevin Maloney ,discussed the need for a more user-friendly program in his department.
Together, the brothers based the development off the flaws of the previously leading program for blood pattern analysis, BackTrack, and some older, less accurate methods.
“The people that I’ve talked to have had to re-learn BackTrack every time they use it because it’s so cumbersome,” says Maloney.
The Ottawa-based developer released the latest version of HemoSpatlate last month and says he’s getting an overwhelmingly positive response.
The newest version offers a better analysis for blood stains on angled surfaces.
Users can import the image of blood and, within minutes, know where in the room it came from and where the stains are in relation to the rest of the room.
Users can export the image as a 3D snapshot, an option that Maloney says is especially useful in courtrooms for corroborating evidence or giving the jury a visual to match a testimony.
HemoSpat data can also be exported in several other formats, such as a basic text file, spreadsheet, or as data that can be opened in other investigation software.
HemoSpat is currently used by forensic departments and universities worldwide, including the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the National Gendarmerie.
At the Ontario Police College, instructor Brian Allen teaches blood stain analysis with HemoSpat, BackTrack and an older method called stringing.
Though students find HemoSpat accurate and user-friendly, Allen says there is yet to be a formal research paper published about it; a hitch that could stop potential organizations from investing.
HemoSpat as an alternative to manually analyzing with elastic strings can save time too.
“Bloody crime scenes are not a nice environment to work in for hours. These programs can considerably decrease the time spent there,” says Allen.
Though software gives faster results, stringing is a necessary technique to learn before using HemoSpat or BackTrack, says Peter Thompson, a police foundations professor at Algonquin College.
Ease of use and system compatibility are areas of the older program, BackTrack, that haven’t seen development in years; the main reason Sgt. Maloney chose to work with his brother on HemoSpat, he told the Ottawa Business Journal.
Though Maloney’s software is now being used by NCIS, he says he doesn’t expect to make a killing from blood spatterings.
Still, the developer is attending all the community’s conferences to get the word out; spotlighting the capabilities for on-site use at crime scenes.
“It’s great because it can give you real-time results at the scene,” says Maloney. “It may not be used for every crime, but it’s the perfect addition to your toolbox when blood is involved.”