A crime-fighting machine that's been shown on investigative programs can now been found right in our own backyard.

Now, the Thomas County forensics team is using the high-tech device to help solve crimes.

"It's just now starting to tap into the law enforcement community. I think there's just a handful in the country I believe," said Andy Forte, Thomas County Forensic Investigator.

The $180,000 Leica 3-D Laser Scanner was given as a grant from Homeland Security to the Thomas County Sheriff's office.

And now, the forensics team is using the special scanning equipment to help area investigations, like the recent homicide in Bainbridge.

"It's very important for us to be able to walk through the crime scene and to show juries the crime scene as we see it," said Glenn Hutchinson, Forensic Identification supervisor for the Thomas County Sheriff's Office.

"And once it's captured it's frozen in time so investigators can go back at a later date and continuously revisit the crime scene as more details come up during the investigation," said Forte.

The measuring and mapping device takes photo and laser scans of a crime scene, forming them into three-dimensional picture on the computer.

"You can actually pan around a room, look down on the scene from any angle," said Forte.

"It affords us another tool to solve crimes. And that's the business that we're in. And we have a good working relationship with all the agencies in South Georgia. And we have provided services for those agencies for the last 16 years, and we'll just be able to provide another tool to those agencies," said Hutchinson.

In Hutchinson's 30 years in crime scene investigation, he says the business has come a long way.

And with advances like these in high tech equipment, he says they have a better shot at fighting crime.