CLPEX Chat Board

Our office is having a discussion on what kind of flashlights are better for looking for latent prints at crime scenes.
We’ve purchased a wide variety and none seem to work well. Here’s a few of the problems we’ve had.

-We’ve purchased multiple sets of rechargeable flashlights (6 or 8 flashlights each time) and they never seem to stay charged for an entire callout.
-One of our problems with rechargeable flashlights is that we charge them at our office and at our processing lab (not in the vehicles) and there have been quite a few times where they’ve been forgotten to be brought along and then people end up at crime scenes without any flashlight.
-Some of our examiners don’t think battery operated flashlights are a good option because of the temperature changes in vehicles.
-The newer small flashlights are nice but I’m afraid they’ll get lost. We have 17 examiners who share all the items and the flashlights I’m referring to cost over $100.
-We have lights that you can wear on your head but then you have to twist your head at the right angle to see the prints.

Since we now have about 20 flashlights, I’m leery about spending money on trying a new kind of flashlight until I hear what other examiners use, what they like, and what they don’t like.

I’d also like to know how many offices provide callout kits for their examiners instead of sharing supplies. I’m not against having callout kits for each examiner but some people only go on one callout a year while others go on several callouts. It just doesn’t seem practical to purchase callout kits for examiners who rarely process scenes.
Any help would be appreciated. You can either post something here or email me directly.

michele.triplett@kingcounty.gov
Thanks!

It's kind of a conundrum in this field. Patrol does very well with vehicle chargers, because the car runs most of the day. A full-size Streamlight with a reasonably decent battery is rarely called upon for such long continuous use that it dies. I suspect most crime scene units don't get such opportunities to stay charged. I do like the car chargers, though, because if it's mounted up front in an obvious place, the flashlight that's most often charged during off times in a base charger, is readily missed when it's not in the car charger where one will miss it at once if it's not there when you get in to drive. I'm rather fond of the Stinger size smaller rechargeable. I also like the larger lights with the box base. Not so convenient for trying lots of viewing angles, but real nice as fixed lighting in a dark place when your hands are occupied. Adding the vehicle chargers with the chargers mounted right up front on the dash might cure the left behind problem and provide some additional charging time. And it's a pretty cheap addition.

I am not too fond of the LED flashlights. It may be me, but the quality of the light seems to me to be oddly flat and not too good for color and contrast discrimination. (I do carry X5's in blue and UV, though. Mostly for fibers and body fluids.)

Hi Michelle,

I used to regularly carry an Oreck brand diver's type light to my crime scenes. It was a huge thing and not easily transported along with my suitcases of crime scene equipment but it was invaluable to me. It was waterproof and could take being dropped or banged about with it's sturdy housing. It had a lens approx. 8" - 10" across that was ideal for oblique (grazing) lighting which is the best for visualizing prints. I believe that most flashlights today direct the light into a fixed and directed beam for high intensity which is not necessarily what you want for visualizing prints at crime scenes. It was great for visualizing footwear impressions on surfaces also. It also substituted for a flash unit on my camera for close-up shots. The Oreck light would last a usual 8 hr. shift and would be recharged at the station during down time. I work in a state lab now and don't get to too many crime scenes in the past ten years, but it was once an indispensible tool to me when I was regularly doing scene work, even though carrying it around involved acting as a pack mule with all the equipment involved. I think that a flashlight being small and bright is not necessarily what one wants, and that being big and rugged with a diffuse light and able to recharge easily may be more important. I am not sure if one can still purchase this light but one should certainly try to match it's features.

Chris Grice

Having done both processing of latent prints out in the field and latent exams for over 28 years, I’ve found that most of the rechargeable lights are far too bright. The high intensity light that comes from the rechargeable flashlight are great for general processing of the crime scene (e.g. blood collection/detection, trace evidence, searching for shoe and tire impressions, etc.). But when it comes to analyzing a developing latent print for sufficient quality, the lights from a rechargeable gets too intense and washes out the latent print, doesn’t matter what angle you have the light in. My solution is to take a rechargeable Maglite for general usage and take a three C cell battery Maglite with me to the scenes.

I would be very happy if someone invented a rheostat to place on the rechargeable flashlights to vary the intensity for the type of work that one is doing with it. As far as the LED lights are concerned, I carry one and it’s great for general usage. But once I get down to analyze the latent; it’s very difficult to find that perfect angle to hold the light for best viewing.

One of my concern is that newer latent print technicians are using those high intensity lights and will miss latent prints because they will get wash out. Now it could be that I am getting old and just can’t see the way I used to, but I’ve had this problem since I first started over 28 years ago.

Now when it comes time to examine latent prints on my desk, I can’t seem to have enough light at times. We use mostly frosted tape so glare is not an issue. I have noticed at times that a latent print that is difficult to see in any light, once the frosted tape is applied, may appear to be much clearer.

I feel that everyone should have their own processing kits. Those that been in the field long enough will tell you about “the feel of the brush”. After using your own brush, you get to know and/or expect a cretin response from it. If you use a shared kit, you’ll never get to the point where you can get that “feel for the brush” since most likely the brushes in a shared kit are rotated often, someone might get it damp or get oil on it, or fluffed up to the point that it’s useless.

Well, my two cents.

Ricardo Tomboc

Michelle,

Each person in our unit is assigned a rechargeable Mag-Lite and there is a charger in each of our shared vehicles. As I work at night, I've also taken to carrying a small LED flashlight which seems to provide better viewing at times on some of the newer metallic paint jobs on vehicles. I also have to carry a second Mag-Lite, as I've found that the battery sticks begin to wear down over time and will not hold a charge on those nights when I'm running from call to call for an entire 8 hour shift.

We also each have our own latent print kits stocked with our preference of brushes, powders and whatnot. There are some out there who swear that a feather brush is much better than the newer fiberglass brushes and some who swear by the camel hair brushes. I guess it boils down to what you get used to using. I would prefer to have my own kit, stocked with equipment I know how to use and am comfortable with. And ... I have no one to blame when I find that the kit wasn't restocked at the end of the day.

-Lonnette Kendoll
Police Dept., Richardson, TX

My husband is a Forensic Tech working the 5pm-3am shift and he uses the Rechargeable Streamlight LED Stinger. He says he has never had one die yet on him during a shift and their advantage is they have 3 power settings so you can utilize your power as best needed. The office has bigger mag-lights too but the Stinger is the one he prefers when I asked him about flashlight preferences.

Hi Michele,

I worked patrol for 16 years and started with the big heavy SL20 Streamlights with the ceramic reflectors that broke when you dropped them and transitioned to the SL20X when my department bought them for issue. I was never happy with those and I finally bought a Streamlight ultra stinger, rechargeable with an AC and DC charger supplied with the light in a kit. I have used it on patrol and use it now as a crime scene tech/LP examiner and it seems to be the best balance of both worlds to me, it holds a charge very well and the battery does not develop a "memory" like some of the earlier batteries did. It also lasts for over an hour of continuous use without a recharge, plus I can take it in the house and recharge or use when my vehicle is not running. I have had this light for about five years and use it continually and have only had to replace the battery pack.