Video Forensic Expert

There are many activities of a Video Forensic Expert that help the legal system better understand the truth behind video evidence and court room exhibits.

A Video Forensic Expert helps criminal justice personnel to understand the power, potential, accuracy and inaccuracy of closed circuit television systems (also known as video security systems), police car video footage which often becomes evidence to determine probable cause to understand the truth of an investigation, crime or traffic stop.

A Video Forensic Expert reviews the relevant facts about how a video surveillance system operates in relationship to the video evidence being presented.

The Video Forensic Expert then communicates and interprets the circumstances surrounding those events in the court room as it relates to the evidence or exhibit being presented in an expert witness capacity.

The Video Forensic Expert also helps communicate the difference between analogue and digital video closed circuit television systems as well as each format strength and weakness. Helping courts with litigation that includes video evidence, understand how to handle video evidence should it become necessary and how to preserve the chain of custody for digital and analogue video forensic evidence is standard operating procedure for any Video Forensic Expert.

Closed circuit television and other video recording security systems is a visual assessment tool. Visual Assessment means having proper identifiable or descriptive information during or after an incident or accident.

Visit: http://digitalvideoforensics.blogspot.com/2009/11/video-authentication.html for more information on Closed Circuit Television Systems.

Personal Identification is another activity that a Video Forensic Expert often assists with. Video is a solution to courts for reexamining a set of circumstances surrounding a crime because it has the ability to provide the viewer a tool to review a sequence of events, beyond a shadow of a doubt. This does not reflect human identification, but rather, the ability to identify specific information or objects within a video image.


Clarification
Often a Video Forensic Expert must provide clarification services to help laypersons better view video footage. Part of this clarification process is done in a video software program. Other times it may become necessary for a Video Forensic Expert to export a frame or several frames for the video evidence and import into another software program to further clarify an image for identification purposes.

Because of the need for accuracy, it is also the duty of a Video Forensic Expert to examine time-lapse video from closed circuit television systems that may exclude important crime scene characteristics.

For example, if using a digital recorder or DVR, with a low image per second frame rate setting may not capture some important images on the video recorder. The lower frame rate setting is desired by many digital CCTV system users to reduce storage requirements of surveillance video on hard drives.

On the Primeau Productions You Tube page, there are video examples of this frame rate scenario.

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Improper Use of Video Forensic Evidence
In law enforcement, video recording systems are installed in most police cruisers and help bring accidents, drunk driving and other traffic stop situations and crimes into the court room to be reviewed by lawyers, judges and juries to aid with a more positive and accurate legal outcome.
Law enforcement uses video to exhibit probable cause.

Video Forensic Experts help courts understand video evidence and video evidence admissibility. Often time’s video evidence is improperly used and a Video Forensic Expert assists the court by clarifying details that are not easily understood by laypersons.

An experienced Video Forensic Expert is good at breaking down technical language to a level laypersons can understand so they can make better decisions about the video evidence being presented.

Forensic Questions about Video Evidence
• What do we know about this recording to be true (within a reasonable degree of professional certainty)?
• On what type of equipment was the video recording made?
• Is the original recording of the video available for examination?
• Is the original recording equipment that made the tape also available for examination?

Video Anomalies
The Video Forensic Expert also looks for anomalies in a video recording when authenticating a video recording about to be entered into litigation as evidence or an exhibit.

Anomalies are abnormalities, deviations or “breaks” in the recording process as evidenced on the physical tape or digital video file. These aberrations can impact the legitimacy of a video (digital or analogue) as a piece of legal evidence.

Another form of anomaly as of lately is lack of video footage presented.
A Video Forensic Expert is also responsible in determining if all the relevant video footage is present and complete before the video evidence is used in court. Often times a party engaged in litigation will enter incomplete video evidence in an attempt to alter the relevant facts similarly to altering or modifying the video evidence by editing or other tampering. This is another form of anomaly that a Video Forensic Expert can help identify.

Authentication
Video authentication is an intricate process requiring extensive training, experience and sophisticated tools and equipment. Add ever-changing technological advances and increased use of recording devices by businesses and the general public – and you begin to glimpse the expertise needed by a Video Forensic Expert.


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Video Forensic Expert