Real Life CSI

Panoramic cameras for crime scenes. [Link]

I've often rolled my eyes at the ridiculous technology used by CSI agents on TV, but the NY Times has revealed that as of 2009 the NYPD has started capturing 360 degree panoramic photos of crime scenes, for future analysis.

While closeup photos are still an important tool for documenting evidence and clues, the use of the Panoscan camera gives investigators a way to study and analyze them in the context of the whole crime scene, well after it's been cleaned up. The NYPD has actually released a handful of these photos to The New York Times, who posted them, uncensored, in a gallery on their site. (Warning: if the sight of blood and the deceased aren't your thing, you'll probably want to skip it.)