NCJ Number
181747
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2000 Pages: 16-20
Date Published
February 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Digital imaging through the use of digital cameras can be useful to police agencies if they handle this technology with the same attention to process that pervades the practice of law enforcement.
Abstract
Recent cases of the police use of digital cameras in Indiana and Ohio exemplify the importance of planning carefully, establishing a Standard Operating Procedure, and providing training to ensure that courts will consider evidence from digital images to be admissible. Good procedures need not be burdensome in any substantive way. The two types of images are visually verifiable images, in which the technology used is unimportant, and analyzed images, in which the witness or an associate uses specialized techniques to extract information not readily visible in the original scene. Image analysis is uncommon, but its use is increasing. It allows the examiner to extract much more information from images than would otherwise be used simply to show where items were relative to each other. However, special precautions are important during the preparation of images that later will be subjected to analytical procedures. Therefore, police agencies should choose the appropriate tool for the job and should use widely used standards, preferably commercial-off-the-shelf products. Developing written standard operating procedures is also crucial. Basic processes to include in each procedure include archiving images as soon as possible, maintaining a log of the steps taken, and avoiding the use of certain tools and processes. Training police personnel is the final step. Photographs