Software helps cops investigate wrecks

By Dustin Block

Sunday, April 9, 2006 2:09 AM CDT

RACINE COUNTY - After working for years at major aeronautical companies, Lee DeChant turned his computer programming skills earthward.

Specifically, the Racine native focused on traffic and how he could keep it moving even when there was an accident.

The answer: Help law enforcement officials clear crashes faster by speeding up their investigation. This would not only keep highways and roads from jamming up, it would prevent secondary accidents and reduce the number of officers and deputies who get hit by passing cars.

Working with a team of programmers, DeChant made this possible with "photogrammetry" software that allows law enforcement officials to take pictures of accidents and then analyze them back at the office. Not only does it help keep traffic moving, it also makes life easier on law enforcement officials who have to investigate accidents 24 hours a day, regardless of weather.

"Cops like the idea that they can get off the road quickly and do the work in a nice warm office," said DeChant, who was in southeast Wisconsin last week training several area law enforcement agencies how to use the software, named "iWitness."

The software works by taking the same point in different photos and then using angles to calculate distances based on angles and mathematical formulas. The software doesn't require special cameras; it simply makes it calculations off of digital or scanned photos.

The Racine County Sheriff's Department is among the agencies that took part in the three-day training.

"It was an excellent, excellent class," said Deputy Bill Mattke, of Racine County. "It looks very promising. I'm not a techie, but I was blown away by this

software."

Local deputies are waiting on the purchase of digital cameras - the cameras to start using the iWitness software. The software itself costs about $900, DeChant said, and much of the training was paid for with state grants.

The state Department of Transportation is interested in the software as a way to speed up traffic, particularly on state and federal highways.

Several agencies in southeast Wisconsin, including the Wisconsin State Patrol, have been using the software for 11 months and are reporting a 50 percent decrease in the amount of time they spend at an accident scene, compared to traditional methods, DeChant said.

DeChant, who currently lives in Bellevue, Wash., started working with the software in the early-1990s after working for Boeing and Rockwell International. He co-developed iWitness with a team of programmers from Australia, and now handles training through his business, DeChant Consulting Services.

Mattke attended DeChant's training along with Racine County Deputy Jonathan Eckblad. After three days, Mattke said he was ready to start using the equipment.

He added that there would be little risk of losing accident scene evidence from the digital cameras or computers. And even if the evidence was lost, Mattke said, deputies would simply go back to traditional methods to collect the evidence.

"The backup to the cameras would be to pull out the measuring tape," Mattke said.

Special Offer: Get 5 Weeks of the Journal Times for $7!