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.
Finally Not Embarrassed to Show ID
My new license(s) have finally come in after renewal, and they actually look like a state issued license. I am happy to retire my previous state issued license(s) that looks like something one may find in a Cracker-Jacks box.
Hooray for the changes that have finally come in Texas.
(Note: they still call them "pocket cards" in trying to keep us from appearing too professional)
Whatever you do - stay safe!
Hooray for the changes that have finally come in Texas.
(Note: they still call them "pocket cards" in trying to keep us from appearing too professional)
Whatever you do - stay safe!
Process Service and Investigations - it is Similar, but not the Same
I get asked a lot about the differences between process service and investigations. While thaere are many differences, there are similarities. Sometimes to find the person to be served, you need to do some investigating yourself. You may need to find where the person lives, works and hangs out. The reason is you may need to serve them where ad when you know you can find them.
Process Service is 99% about being in the same place at the same time as the person you are serving. This is easy enough when you have cooperative folks, and can be very difficult when people are trying to avoid service. Sometimes you need to learn a prson's schedule and habits. You need to learn about the vehicle they drive and may need to get a description or photograph of the subject.
One more similarity is surveillance. There are those pesky serves that can only be done with surveillance. You simply need to wait un noticed until the person eing served is leaving or arriving from a place you know the will be.
Since serves have a set fee, you usually need to get permission from the client to charge for "wait time" if you are going to conduct surveillance on a serve. Otherwise, you are costing yourself money if you are doing a serve. I know a lot of servers out there, myself included a time or two, that just get fed up with the avoidance that you make all sorts of special efforts to make the serve. Sometimes it is just a matter of pride.
Whatever you do - stay safe!
Process Service is 99% about being in the same place at the same time as the person you are serving. This is easy enough when you have cooperative folks, and can be very difficult when people are trying to avoid service. Sometimes you need to learn a prson's schedule and habits. You need to learn about the vehicle they drive and may need to get a description or photograph of the subject.
One more similarity is surveillance. There are those pesky serves that can only be done with surveillance. You simply need to wait un noticed until the person eing served is leaving or arriving from a place you know the will be.
Since serves have a set fee, you usually need to get permission from the client to charge for "wait time" if you are going to conduct surveillance on a serve. Otherwise, you are costing yourself money if you are doing a serve. I know a lot of servers out there, myself included a time or two, that just get fed up with the avoidance that you make all sorts of special efforts to make the serve. Sometimes it is just a matter of pride.
Whatever you do - stay safe!
Get Yourself Caught
If you want to get yourself caught doing something you shouldn't - just post it on Facebook (or Twitter or even that dying MySpace).
Some knucklehead ended up in bigtime trouble with child support, because he posted this picture on Facebook (credit photo to Facebook)
You can read the story here: ABC News Story
Obviously he isn't the smartest of fellows. He probably even posted this believing it would help him in some way!:
:
Whatever you do - stay safe!
Some knucklehead ended up in bigtime trouble with child support, because he posted this picture on Facebook (credit photo to Facebook)
You can read the story here: ABC News Story
Obviously he isn't the smartest of fellows. He probably even posted this believing it would help him in some way!:
Whatever you do - stay safe!
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!
The B-I sitch that Did Not Want to be Served
A few days back I had papers to serve on a woman that I knew was ducking service. At night, I could see the lights on in her apartment and even see movement inside. She would not answer the door.
So I tried several times of day to catch her. I had figured out what car was hers so I sat out from zero-dark thirty to wait for her to go to work or whatever. After a couple of hours, I see a woman that fit the description given to me walking to the car.
I call her by name tell her who I am and try to hand her papers. She has that "deer in the headlights" look and tried to ignore me as she gets into her car. (she has two toe-headed kids in tow). After she opens the driver's door, she gets in and I drop the papers in her lap. BOOM! She has been served.
I guess she thought she could "unserve" herself. She opens the door and throws the papers on the ground.
I informed her it did not matter what she did with the papers, as she had been served.
She then drove off...
I guess she tears up traffic tickets expecting them to go away too.
- Be Safe!
So I tried several times of day to catch her. I had figured out what car was hers so I sat out from zero-dark thirty to wait for her to go to work or whatever. After a couple of hours, I see a woman that fit the description given to me walking to the car.
I call her by name tell her who I am and try to hand her papers. She has that "deer in the headlights" look and tried to ignore me as she gets into her car. (she has two toe-headed kids in tow). After she opens the driver's door, she gets in and I drop the papers in her lap. BOOM! She has been served.
I guess she thought she could "unserve" herself. She opens the door and throws the papers on the ground.
I informed her it did not matter what she did with the papers, as she had been served.
She then drove off...
I guess she tears up traffic tickets expecting them to go away too.
- Be Safe!
Happy New Year
Well, 2012 went and 2013 has arrived. I have mixed feelings about business, as it was doing really well, but the holidays gave me a really big slow down. Couple that with a few incidents that took place at the end of the year, and now I feel the pressure.
All is good though, as it seems I can do OK in this business, and I will re-double my marketing efforts for the new year. Many of them are very simple, but they seem to work.
This year I will start of giving everyone a free tip. They often ask me how to protect their privacy on Facebook. That is really easy - don't put anything private on Facebook! (Seriously, if you don't get this, maybe you just need to delete your Facebook account)
All is good though, as it seems I can do OK in this business, and I will re-double my marketing efforts for the new year. Many of them are very simple, but they seem to work.
This year I will start of giving everyone a free tip. They often ask me how to protect their privacy on Facebook. That is really easy - don't put anything private on Facebook! (Seriously, if you don't get this, maybe you just need to delete your Facebook account)
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