Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) forensic consultants use science-based methods to gather evidence from crime scenes, but it doesn't work quite as easily as it does on television shows or in movies.
They point out that when investigating crimes in the military, even a time-tested method like comparing fingerprints can become incredibly difficult. If a weapon in an arms room is used in the commission of an alleged crime, imagine how many hundreds of service members have touched that weapon during training?
"It's such a mess of mixed profiles and mixed prints that you really can't discern which is the one that would be relevant," explained Special Agent Garrett Radke, who works as a forensic consultant at Camp Pendleton, California. "It happens a lot with weapons. It's virtually impossible for us to do anything with a military weapon, for example, because [there are] literally hundreds of people who have touched that weapon."
Other techniques seen on television also don't usually pan out. Security camera footage can rarely be enhanced to reveal what a license plate says, there are no centralized databases of service members' DNA, and DNA tests themselves take months to process.
However, they do make good use of technology such as the FARO terrestrial laser scanner to construct 3D images of crime scenes, which can then be compared against witness testimony. When the USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire in 2020, forensic consultants digitally recreated the inside of the ship, and showed that a witness could not have seen what they reported because their visibility was blocked by a wall.
Another newer technology that NCIS forensics consultants use is drones that can gather more information from the air, with Radke being one of four NCIS personnel who are FAA-qualified to fly the drones.
NCIS is charged with investigating major crimes involving Naval personnel, and some come to the job with previous forensics experience, while others get their start in the Navy by attending the NCIS Forensic Associate Program.