Security
monitoring of premises and the movement of people by the use of CCTV
systems can be beneficial in the need to protect premises and ensure
the safety of staff and visitors. In combination with access control,
fire and intruder alarm systems it can prove to be a formidable tool in
the fight against crime. But no matter how good the system is, its
effectiveness will be diminished unless cameras are monitored, pictures
recorded and a means by which its use can be documented and its
integrity proved, is established from the outset.
The following are suggestions for ways of ensuring best
practice in relation to the gathering and presentation of video
evidence. If these general guidelines concerning the handling of
evidential video tapes and equipment are followed it will greatly
assist prosecution cases. This may lead to an increase in 'Guilty'
pleas at court and a decrease in the amount of staff time wasted in
attending court to give evidence.
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 requires that the
gathering of Police evidence be both procedurally correct and as far as
possible, technically verifiable. It therefore puts the emphasis on
improving the standard of evidence required, to catch suspects 'in the
act' of committing a crime.
The use of video recordings have already proved their worth in
court proceedings, enabling the viewing of events as they took place
and as an added bonus, the publicity surrounding such events can act as
a form of Crime Prevention. This preventative effect will only last as
long as prosecutions using video evidence succeeds. It is vital
therefore that total integrity of any system is maintained from
beginning to end.
It should be established at the outset whether the purpose of the
system is intended to identify an incident or to provide identification
evidence of suspects suitable for presentation to the courts.
The quality of any recording depends on the standard and
condition of both the video tape and the system used to make the
recording. Equipment used must be in good order and regularly,
professionally maintained and serviced, details of which should be
recorded from the date of purchase and commissioning of the system.
Unless the camera is set to record a fixed point, eg a
particular door or piece of equipment, a preference should tend towards
pan, tilt and zoom cameras. This will facilitate the provision of an
identifiable picture of the subject but successful system operation is
dependent on an operator being available to manually control the
system.
Adequate lighting (colour cameras) or infra red assisted
(monochrome) recording should be employed for night-time operation of a
CCTV system.
A member of staff should be in a position to explain to any court, procedures relating to the systems installation and use.
Much criticism is levelled by the police and others that the
standard of video reproduction is of poor quality. There may be many
reasons for this but the most common is over-use of the recording tape.
In an ideal world tapes would be used only once. It is appreciated that
cost effectiveness is a necessity, therefore it is suggested that a
library of 31 tapes is established, one for each day of the month. With
the complete library being changed at the end of the twelve month
period, this gives a maximum usage of twelve times per tape at which
point it would tend to show signs of wear and deterioration.
Obviously, the more recording machines used, the greater
number of 'libraries' will be required. It should be borne in mind that
although this may appear to be excessive, the cost of the tapes is only
a small percentage of the overall cost of the complete video based
security system.
Tapes should be stored in a secure cupboard or cabinet so that
their integrity can be maintained also avoiding the possibility of
accidental damage or use. Once purchased it is important that the life
of the tapes are fully recorded, a guide to this is shown at the end of
this document.
It is of the utmost importance, when presenting a video recording as
evidence, that the tapes have not been interfered with and that their
integrity can be proved. The best manner to prove this is to establish
strict procedures for usage, these being fully documented in a prepared
register which can be subsequently produced at court if required. Each
tape should be given a unique reference number and labelled
accordingly. The principle aim of the register is to be able to prove
the life of the tape, its movements and usage.
The register will also prove to be a useful management tool in
evaluating the system as it will contain information relating to the
number of tapes used and the number of cases where video evidence was
presented. In conjunction with this, where manually monitored, a daily
'incident log' should be kept on which the person monitoring the system
can record details of occurrences that have been recorded on the tape.
The log should include the date, time, a brief description of the
incident and the tape counter reading at the start and finish of the
incident. It should also bear details of the person who monitored the
incident. It follows therefore that not only will provision have to be
made for the secure storage of video cassettes but also for the tape
register and daily incident logs.
- Before recording check that the equipment is in good working order
- See that the tape counter is set to zero
- Check that the time and date generator is correctly set and is being recorded from a single source only
All recordings should be made without interruption unless it is
absolutely necessary, any interruptions should be recorded so that
allegations of malpractice can be disproved.
Before re-using a tape it should be erased by the use of a bulk
eraser, which uses a magnetic field to erase previously recorded
material. It should be erased just prior to its re-use, thereby giving
you one month in which to decide if any recordings on the tape are
required for possible future use. By starting with a freshly erased
tape that has been documented to that effect, its integrity is
enhanced.
- There must be evidence of continuity of handling of the
videotape from the time it is first taken into use, up to its
production as an exhibit in court.
- The videotape evidence must be the original recording and
there must be no evidence of editing, either by physically cutting and
splicing or mechanically recording from separate sources.
- The tape used should either be new or evidence should be produced to show that it was erased prior to its use.
- Time and date must be encapsulated to the tape.
- At no time during an incident, nor in the period following,
should the recording be touched until the Police Officer investigating
the incident arrives. Under no circumstances should a member of staff
be allowed to remove the tape from the recorder or playback the video
recording of the incident. This is against Police procedure and will
effect both the quality of the recording and the usefulness of the tape
for evidential purposes.
- It should be appreciated that the identification of a
defendant must not exclusively rely on evidence from the videotape, the
proof of the crime must be supported by other testimony.
When Police are called to a venue where a CCTV system is installed
and it is apparent that what has taken place may have been recorded the
officer will request permission to remove the recording cassette from
the recorder. It is of the utmost importance that the tape is not rewound or reviewed.
Statements will be required from the following:
- A member of staff who is capable of proving the system and who can provide details of the equipment used.
- The member of staff who last placed the tape into the video library store following normal use procedures.
- The member of staff who erased the video tape (if applicable) and put it into the recorder.
- The member of staff who monitored the incident (if applicable and if different from above).
The officer will then treat the tape as he would any other exhibit
in the case except that the plastic exhibit bag should be of the
perforated type in order to avoid the build up of condensation which
could harm the tape.
The video tape recording should then be transported to the
laboratory or other designated place, where a working copy will be
made. From this working copy all viewing or further copies will be
made, the original retained as the exhibit for production at court.
Further statements will be required from the person who
transported the tape for copying, the person who copied the tape and
the person who retrieved the original.
The fact that there is video tape evidence in a case must be
declared to the Crown Prosecution Service at the earliest opportunity
in order that its existence can be declared to the defence.
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