Crime 360 is a television documentary series from A&E Television Network. It is a crime documentary about police investigations and has a unique prospective using computer generated imagery (CGI) to rebuild the crime scene. Using the CGI crime scenes, the detectives are able to combine good old fashion investigative techniques and forensic data to piece together what really happened. As for the quality of the series, Crime 360 proves to be an entertaining experience for those who enjoy the genre.

The show's first season has eleven episodes, which follow various police detectives as they respond to the call and work through solving the case. The show highlights case work from two different major cities, Richmond, VA, and Cleveland, OH. As previously mentioned, the rebuilding of crime scenes using CGI gives the show its unique edge. The case detectives are able to put together their initial theories about what happened, refine it using forensic data, information from witnesses, and details from suspects. The CGI crime scene is used to test their theories and the validity, which helps them work out what could have happened and what actually happened.

The season begins with "Welcome to Homicide". Richmond Police Department homicide detectives Shane Waite and Mark Williams respond to a call at a local apartment complex. They find a dead body stuffed in the trunk of a car. The case is Waite's first as lead detective, which gives the entire ordeal an interesting edge as he works through it with senior detective Williams. The case itself is troublesome, as there are no real clues at the scene, except that the body was moved from somewhere else. Eventually, a 911 tip reveals the original crime scene, which leads to a he said/she said dialogue between two parties pointing the finger at each other.

As the season continues, the episodes detail case detectives from Richmond and Cleveland Police Departments. The experience level continues to range from green detectives on their first case to seasoned investigators, which again, gives the processions an interesting edge as the seniors help the green detectives work to the right answer. Another strong aspect is that none of the cases are too straightforward or simplistic. For instance in "Trial By Fire", detective Michael Mocello responds to a scene that he cannot tell if it is a homicide, accident, or suicide. But as the seasoned investigator works through the scene, he uncovers the truth.

Overall, Crime 360 is an interesting crime documentary. Like similar series in the genre, it provides good detail of the overall crime from start to finish. However, the CGI crime scene gives it an additional edge, where the suspected/actual events are visually depicted to the viewer, and the forensic data and interview testimony are used to solidify the details. In the end, Crime 360 is a solid crime documentary television series and will serve those who enjoy the genre well.

Episode Guide

1. Welcome to Homicide: On a hot summer day in Richmond, Detective Shane Waite is called to a local apartment complex where there is believed to be a dead body inside the trunk of a car. Waite discovers a bound murder victim stuffed in the trunk of the car.
2. Fatal Feud: Two men who live next to each other in a housing project get into a deadly argument. One is shot and killed. Detectives Crewell and Williams take the two men's girlfriends back to headquarters to find out what happened.
3. Deadly Secrets: Lead Homicide Detective Wally Everett and his partner Detective Mike Smith are called out to a crime scene where a body lays hidden between some hedges and the porch of the victim's grandmother's house.
4. Final Call: In the dead of night, Homicide Detectives, Thompson and Pence are called out to a bloody crime scene: a body, riddled with bullets, is found on a porch in a residential neighborhood.
5. Trial By Fire: Detective Mocello responds to the scene of a suspicious fire in the bedroom of a first floor apartment. He doesn't know if it's a homicide, an accident, or a suicide when he arrives.
6. Killing Field: On the morning of July 5th, the body of the victim is found lying face up in an abandoned lot that had been used to shoot off guns the night before in celebration of Independence Day. More than 60+ shell casings are collected from the crime scene, which detectives hope will include an essential clue.
7. Blood on the Tracks: Detectives Tim Entenok and Joselito Sandoval are called to a crime scene at Brookside Park at 11:00 am, where a missing person is found dead in a 4-foot-diameter sewage drain, in a remote section of the park. The body is found 300 feet deep in the pipe, which has been draining a constant flow of rainwater.
8. Deadly Alibis: A young woman is found shot to death in a ransacked apartment. Detectives speculate she may have stumbled upon a robbery. They interview the apartment's residents. They claim to have been out partying the night of the murder.
9. Bad Blood: Detectives Hank Veverka and Tom Armelli are called to a possible crime scene. The coroner arrives and finds that the victim's body shows signs of blunt force trauma to the head.
10. Gilpin Court Shooting: Detective Jaime Baynes is called to the scene of a possible homicide. After interviewing a few witnesses, Baynes learns the victim ran 100 yards, coughing up blood along the way. He banged on a couple of doors crying for help, before falling on his back and dying in the grass.
11. Shots in the Dark: Detectives respond to a call of a stabbing at a convenience store on North Avenue. The victim is a young man lying in a pool of blood. The convenience store clerks say the suspect ran out of the store.

The DVD

Video:
The video is presented in 1.78 ratio widescreen letterbox format. The picture quality is good. It has a slight grain, which is more noticeable on large television sets, but detail is still pretty sharp and clear.

Audio:
The audio is given in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. The audio track is very simple and plain sounding. Dialogue is easily heard throughout the episodes. There is no support for subtitles or closed captioning.

Extras:
"Additional Footage" (14:30) is the only extra, which continues various informative footage, interviews, and behind the scenes. The contents include discussion about the opening sequence, interviews with Detectives Everett and Thompson, follow up to "Fatal Feud", and details about forensic tools (superglue, scanning electron microscope, forensic entomology, DNA swab), fugitive apprehension, and ground disturbance tracking dog.

Final Thoughts:
Crime 360 is an A&E documentary television series about police investigations from Richmond and Cleveland Police Departments. The series stands out from others in the genre by using computer generated imagery to rebuild crime scenes, which allows detectives to visually test and refine theories about the crime. The series is engaging and offers several interesting cases with a good progression as the detectives solve the cases.