Forensic equipment analyzes crime-scene clues – a subject covered in detail in GURPS Mysteries. Two extremely widespread items appear below.

The friction ridges on the hands and feet are unique to each person and remain consistent throughout life. The prints these leave – especially fingerprints – are therefore a useful means of identification. Prints are called patent if made in ink, blood, etc., or latent if created by sweat or body oils.

Various chemicals and powders are useful for revealing latent prints. Prints can be recovered (“lifted”), with varying degrees of success, from many surfaces – including human skin. Recovery isn’t possible from rough materials like brick, unpolished stone, unfinished wood, and cloth. At TL7-8, a computerized database can compare recovered prints to those on record relatively quickly. This may still take hours or days. Note that the computer merely selects likely candidates for a human expert to study – it doesn’t provide a definitive match.

A pocket-sized fingerprint kit is a case containing a small amount of powder, two brushes, several transparent “lifters,” and a pad of ink. A Scrounging roll might turn up powders and cellophane tape that qualify as improvised equipment. $50, 1 lb. LC4.

A case containing a tape measure, a magnifying glass, evidence bags and tubes, markers, gloves, syringes for collecting liquid specimens, scissors, tweezers, and a penlight. $150, 10 lbs. LC4.

Forensic equipment is used to analyze clues, usually at crime scenes. In addition to this specialized gear, investigators use chemsniffers, portable labs, medscanners, ultra-scan, or even timescanners.

These swarms can provide detailed information on the room’s occupants and visitors for the past several years by analyzing the buildup of organic and inorganic detritus: skin flakes, blood, clothing fibers, food residue, presence of other nano, etc. When gathering forensic evidence, each square yard of swarm can sweep one square yard per hour. The data collected from people or animals will reveal their sex, race, blood type, genetic pattern and approximate age. It can form the basis of a computer simulation of what they might look like, but will not identify someone unless he is listed in a database available to the investigator. Forensic swarms can also perform pathological analysis without an autopsy.

A forensic swarm gives a +3 (quality) bonus to Forensics skill for gathering evidence. Analyzing the data requires Forensics (or Biology) skill or an appropriate expert-system program. $4,000/square yard. LC2.