NCJ Number
231857
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 37 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2010 Pages: 60,62-64,66
Date Published
June 2010
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article examines the switch by law enforcement from conventional film photography to digital photography.
Abstract
This article discusses the problems encountered by law enforcement with the switch from film to digital photography, and the work that has been done to address these issues. Approximately 15 years ago, the criminal justice community began using digital photography, in addition to conventional film photography, to document crime scenes. In 1999, the Federal Bureau of Investigation established the Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technologies (SWGIT) for the purpose of ensuring the proper use of imaging technologies and systems in the criminal justice system. SWGIT developed a set of recommendations and guidelines for the proper use of digital image processing which are available online at www.theiai.org. Problems associated with the use of digital photography include archiving the images and chain of custody issues regarding the images. Archiving digital images requires significant data storage capabilities. Reductions in the amount of data being stored can be achieved through compression. Two methods used for compression, lossless and lossy, are described along with new file formats available to law enforcement that protect the integrity of the digital images.