On-site forensic testing capability for the Australian Federal Police

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is taking the lead in implementing innovative forensic science capabilities, becoming the first agency in Australia to take delivery of an instrument that can be used for on-site rock and mineral analysis.

The InXitu XRD/XRF Terra analytical instrument is the first of its kind worldwide, and is expected to revolutionise fieldwork by providing mobility and timeliness - two features that are also of great relevance to forensic science. The instrument enables scientists to analyse the mineralogy of rocks (or, in the case of forensic scientists, other crystalline materials) in the field, eliminating the need for transporting samples to a laboratory for testing.

The Terra has been teamed with the Canberra-produced software ‘Siroquant’ and the AFP is the first agency in the world to use this pioneering combination to give forensic scientists a mobile and reliable means for analysing crystalline compounds.

Luis Thé, General Manager of Sietronics, is excited about the possibilities. “XRD is acknowledged to be one of the gold-standard analytical tests for crystalline materials, which are encountered in drug, explosives and hazardous substance investigations. Until the release of the highly portable Terra, XRD was effectively a lab-based and expensive technique,” he said.

While all law enforcement agencies are particularly interested in the rapid analysis of hazardous materials, this purchase by the AFP shows an ongoing commitment to supporting technology that has the potential to benefit forensic partners in broader law enforcement applications.

Brad Boyer, of InXitu, likens the introduction of the Terra to the introduction of the digital mobile phone. “When the mobile phone was introduced, it really changed everything, people could take them with them, and it changed the way people approached using telephones and communicating with each other.”