Digital - Imaging - Sop PDF

A Standard Operating Procedure
for
the Use of Digital Imaging Cameras
by the First Responding Officer
This Model Standard Operating Procedure, prepared by the Division of Criminal

Justice is intended to serve only as a guide for the law enforcement agency in
formulating a written procedure regarding the use of digital imaging by the first
responding officer.
I. Purpose: Photographic evidence can greatly enhance a criminal investigation by

providing visual graphics of the scene, of evidence or of injured victims and can
provide prosecutors with the evidence they need to successfully prosecute cases. In
some cases, a crime scene photographer or specialist may not be available or
requested to go to the scene to take photographs, such as domestic violence incidents,
traffic accidents or minor incidents. While photography may not be the primary
responsibility of the first responding officer, the responding officer may, under
appropriate conditions, augment the investigation with the use of photographs to
graphically document the case.
II. Policy: This agency recognizes that photographs and digital images can provide a
vital piece of evidence in a criminal investigation and prosecution. To ensure the
highest integrity in the use of digital imaging evidence in a court of law, this agency
has adopted the following standard operating procedures which are based on
recommendations by the Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technologies
(SWGIT), the Institute for Forensic Imaging and the working draft of a guide for
handling digital images prepared by the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.
III. Procedures:
1. Only departmentally approved and issued digital cameras will be used for official
criminal investigation purposes. A departmentally approved camera should have a
minimum of 3.0 megapixels (3.2 MP gross), on camera viewer, close up
capability, flash and a removable image memory card or device of at least 8 to 16
MB.
2. At the beginning of each tour of duty, it shall be the responsibility of the officer to
ensure that
Rev. 3/05 1
a. the issued digital camera is in proper working order;
b. the camera has a clean image memory card or device and that the camera
battery or batteries are fully charged. The officer should also have a 90-degree
evidence ruler which gives white, grey and black vertical and horizontal
planes to be used when taking close-up photographs of injuries;
c. the camera date stamp is correctly set and that the date stamp set so that it will
not be printed on the digital images, and
d. the camera set at “automatic” for exposure, flash and focus. Compensation
may be necessary because of the skin pigmentation of the individual being
photographed. The storage control should be set at “best quality.”
3. In taking digital photographs, the officer should take a number of photographs.

When taking photographs of injuries, the officer should have the camera at a 90-
degree angle to the injury.
a. The photographs should include the following:
(1) A photograph of the general scene or if an individual, a full frame

photograph of the person;
(2) A photograph showing the relationship of the injury to the subject’s body,
and
(3) A close-up photograph of the injury, with and without the evidence ruler in
the photograph.
b. The officer taking digital photographs at the crime scene should view the
photographs on the camera’s LCD view screen to determine if the
photographs effectively document a victim’s injury or the crime scene.
c. The officer at the scene should not delete any digital images which are
photographically faulty. Digital images that are relevant for investigative or
trial purposes can be printed at a later time.
d. The digital photographs shall not be viewed with any device that would enable
editing of the digital images, such as a memory card reader or a computer.
e. The officer should record the camera’s assigned numbers for the images taken
for a particular crime scene or case.
Rev. 3/05 2
f. The officer should note in the officer’s incident report that photographs had
been taken of the victim and of the scene.
4. At the conclusion of the officer’s tour of duty, the officer shall
a. turn in the camera’s memory card to the appropriate officer or unit in

headquarters by placing the memory card in an evidence envelope with
identifying case information and sealed. This sealed envelope will then be
delivered to the evidence specialist, or, depending upon departmentally
approved standard operating procedures,
b. download the unaltered images into a sealed computer file, such as a CD-
ROM or a computer file which has limited access. The CD writing software
approved by the department should not permit re-writing or alteration of
recorded images.
5. The evidence specialist, or the designated officer, will copy, without opening, the
digital images onto a CD-ROM, which will become the “master negative.”
a. The CD shall be write-once-read-many times (WORM) disks – CD-R. This

master negative CD shall serve as the permanent record because it cannot be
altered once written. This master negative CD should be placed in a secured
location and not become part of the investigative case files.
b. The files on the master negative CD should be copied, without opening, onto
another CD which becomes the working record, the “negative duplicate.”
c. A separate CD should be created from the negative duplicate CD for each

criminal case or investigation.
d. The officer should confirm that the digital images were correctly transferred
to a blank CD by
(1) opening the digital images on the CD,
(2) comparing the images to those on the flash or memory card,
(3) attempting to write a file onto the CD. If the officer is able to write a file
on the CD, the CD should be destroyed and a new CD created. If correctly
transferred, the images on the camera memory cards may then be erased
and the card returned for departmental use.
(4) printing out a contact sheet of the digital images which should be included
in the case file.
Rev. 3/05 3
e. Once the master negative CD has been created, it shall not be removed from
the custody of the appropriate department or officer. If a CD is to be reviewed
beyond the custody of the appropriate agent, a new CD should be made from
the negative duplicate CD, such as for the investigating officer, prosecutor,
defense attorney, etc.
f. Any enhancement of digital image files should be documented by the

evidence specialist and recorded on a separate CD.
Rev. 3/05 4

Digital - Imaging - Sop PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Digital - Imaging - Sop PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Digital - Imaging - Sop PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Standard Operating Procedure

This Model Standard Operating Procedure, prepared by the Division of Criminal

I. Purpose: Photographic evidence can greatly enhance a criminal investigation by

3. In taking digital photographs, the officer should take a number of photographs.

a. The photographs should include the following:

(1) A photograph of the general scene or if an individual, a full frame

4. At the conclusion of the officer’s tour of duty, the officer shall

a. turn in the camera’s memory card to the appropriate officer or unit in

a. The CD shall be write-once-read-many times (WORM) disks – CD-R. This

c. A separate CD should be created from the negative duplicate CD for each

(1) opening the digital images on the CD,

(2) comparing the images to those on the flash or memory card,

f. Any enhancement of digital image files should be documented by the

You might also like