It is really not all that difficult to get photographic evidence or video evidence introduced into a case.
There is an age- old "7-Prong Test" for this type of evidence to be admitted:
1) It must be proved that the camera was capable of taking photos/video. In other words Was the camera was in good operating condition without malfunctions?
2) The person taking the video/photos must be shown to be competent in the use and operation of the camera.
3) The authenticity and correctness of the recording must be documented. You must be able to document that tampering with the photos/video has not occurred.
4) You also must be able to show that the video or photographs have not had any additions, deletions or changes made. Note: You must be able to testify that the video is a true and complete recording, free of editing or tampering of any kind. If a video is edited (like many need to be to have a time-stamp), the original unedited copy must be available for review by the court. I also often have to convert the files to another format, as the court may not be able to view the original format.
5) The court must be shown the manner of presentation.
6) The recordings must show proper identification of the subjects depicted in the video or photographs. Note: The investigator must have proper facial views of the subject documented so that the identity of the subjects can be assessed. Either that or other distinctive markings, or tattoos must be clearly visable.
7) You need to be able to show that the actions was elicited voluntarily without inducement. You cannot cause a situation that would create circumstances that would make the subject act differently than they might without the circumstances presented to them. For example: you cannot let the air out of a tire to cause the subject to have to change the tire. This comes down to entrapment.
If you can meet the 7-prong test, you can get the evidence admitted. Questions about video or photos on an SD card and whether they are on the orginal SD card are not really relevant. SD cards are merely temporary storage devices for the evidence themselves.
Whatever you do - stay safe!
This is the Blog of Barry Dunn Advisory Group LLC. You will find information about our company and Private Investigation in general.
Showing posts with label evidence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label evidence. Show all posts
Tunnel Vision
It amazes me how tunnel vision affects investigations. In criminal cases, I usually have the benefit of going in after the case has been investigated by the police. I can see what they did, and I can't see what they didn't do.
What amazes me is how tunnel vision almost takes over an investigation. It is like the investigators become possessed by something causing them to only focus on one suspect. While more often than not, they usually have the right suspect, by having tunnel vision they end up missing key evidence and testimony by others. Think of it this way, if you are looking at the possibility of other suspects, you are more likely to broaden your search for clues and evidence. When you do this, you are more likely to discover more evidence. This includes evidence against the given suspect.
When investigators focus on one suspect, they often allow other suspects to go free, They also narrow the search of evidence so small that some obvious evidence is over looked. I am not saying these are bad investigators. What I am saying is that investigators need to be aware of how tunnel vision can cause you to narrow your focus so much that you miss key evidence. This is a psychological thing that happens "naturally" and investigators need to fight the tendency to have tunnel vision.
Part of the problem is that investigators are pressured to clear cases by arrest, so once they get a suspect, they narrow the search of clues and evidence too quickly.
This was just something that hit me as I am working on a current case.
Whatever you do - Stay safe!
What amazes me is how tunnel vision almost takes over an investigation. It is like the investigators become possessed by something causing them to only focus on one suspect. While more often than not, they usually have the right suspect, by having tunnel vision they end up missing key evidence and testimony by others. Think of it this way, if you are looking at the possibility of other suspects, you are more likely to broaden your search for clues and evidence. When you do this, you are more likely to discover more evidence. This includes evidence against the given suspect.
When investigators focus on one suspect, they often allow other suspects to go free, They also narrow the search of evidence so small that some obvious evidence is over looked. I am not saying these are bad investigators. What I am saying is that investigators need to be aware of how tunnel vision can cause you to narrow your focus so much that you miss key evidence. This is a psychological thing that happens "naturally" and investigators need to fight the tendency to have tunnel vision.
Part of the problem is that investigators are pressured to clear cases by arrest, so once they get a suspect, they narrow the search of clues and evidence too quickly.
This was just something that hit me as I am working on a current case.
Whatever you do - Stay safe!
Who Needs to Know When I am Making a Recording?
Whenever you are making a recording of an individual (this does not include video with no audio in a public place) usually at least one party to the conversation needs to be aware of the recording. In other words, you cannot put a device to record all phone calls on a line, unless you are always a party to those phone calls. Also, you cannot "accidentally" leave a recording device in another room and walk out to record what took place in the other room. Exceptions to this require a judges order.
In other words, you cannot bug anyone's car, apartment, house, office... you name it.
You can, in one party state (meaning one party to the conversation is aware) walk around and record everything without telling anyone. You can use a hidden camera and record everything that is going on around you (there are some facilities that can outlaw this).
Some states require both parties to be aware they are being recorded. These states are:
California
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington
Assume places like Washington D.C. and other US places to be 2 party unless you can find something to clearly state otherwise.
This means in 2 party states you cannot secretly record any conversation or use a hidden camera with audio. You can use a hidden camera without audio in public places.
Whatever you do - Stay safe!
In other words, you cannot bug anyone's car, apartment, house, office... you name it.
You can, in one party state (meaning one party to the conversation is aware) walk around and record everything without telling anyone. You can use a hidden camera and record everything that is going on around you (there are some facilities that can outlaw this).
Some states require both parties to be aware they are being recorded. These states are:
California
Connecticut
Florida
Illinois
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nevada
New Hampshire
Pennsylvania
Washington
Assume places like Washington D.C. and other US places to be 2 party unless you can find something to clearly state otherwise.
This means in 2 party states you cannot secretly record any conversation or use a hidden camera with audio. You can use a hidden camera without audio in public places.
Whatever you do - Stay safe!
Video Date and Time Stamps
I have heard a lot of misunderstood statements about time/date stamps on videos. The one that makes me scratch my head the most is For Court we must display the time and date in the video. I really do not understand that one. The reason I say this is that nearly all HD recorders now used by both law enforcement and professional investigators do not put a time/date stamp on the video. That means for court someone would have to provide a video that was not how it was recorded originally. No matter how you want to word this - it means you are providing an altered or modified video.
I have problems with getting altered videos into court. You are just asking for a good attorney to muddy up the water of your testimony. Usually to get video into evidence, whoever shot the video will be asked "Is this video the same as the actual scene when you shot it?" Fair enough, and easy yes. Then they need to ask "Have you modified, changed, or edited this video in any way?" If you answer any other way than "yes" you have just committed perjury if you used one of the common ways to add time/date stamps to the video. The most common is for people use the video out and play the video with the camera showing the time/date stamp and making a DVD on a Pinnacle Dazzle (or other brands that do the same thing) DVD recorder. That is no less a modified video that if you used a software program to edit the video so it shows the time/date based upon the meta data.
On a HD video the information is all contained in the file's meta data. This means you can look at the file and see when it was recorded. It has other information, such as the quality of the recording, etc.
The point is, you need to save an original recording how is was saved by the camera. It is not necessary to save SD cards, you just need to save the files in their original form and keep copies in a safe place.
You need to have that original form available when you go to court. You can say how you got the time/date stamp onto the video - but never claim that said video is original.
Whatever you do - stay safe!
I have problems with getting altered videos into court. You are just asking for a good attorney to muddy up the water of your testimony. Usually to get video into evidence, whoever shot the video will be asked "Is this video the same as the actual scene when you shot it?" Fair enough, and easy yes. Then they need to ask "Have you modified, changed, or edited this video in any way?" If you answer any other way than "yes" you have just committed perjury if you used one of the common ways to add time/date stamps to the video. The most common is for people use the video out and play the video with the camera showing the time/date stamp and making a DVD on a Pinnacle Dazzle (or other brands that do the same thing) DVD recorder. That is no less a modified video that if you used a software program to edit the video so it shows the time/date based upon the meta data.
On a HD video the information is all contained in the file's meta data. This means you can look at the file and see when it was recorded. It has other information, such as the quality of the recording, etc.
The point is, you need to save an original recording how is was saved by the camera. It is not necessary to save SD cards, you just need to save the files in their original form and keep copies in a safe place.
You need to have that original form available when you go to court. You can say how you got the time/date stamp onto the video - but never claim that said video is original.
Whatever you do - stay safe!
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