Digital Evidence
For those who use a digital evidence storage platform.
When an officer / deputy gathers surveillance, pictures, dash cam videos, etc. on a usb drive or cd, were public provided the medium of transport, do you upload it into your digital vault and dispose of the transport medium and make a case note on how the information was received? Or do you save it and enter it as evidence after it has been uploaded? We utilize AXON, which offers "community request" for whomever the officer provides a link to upload digital evidence, but there are people in the public that still provide us with storage devices.
Thanks!
David J Kaiser
31 Views
Our agency we keep it in on the device it was given to the officer. Our thoughts are certain surveillance systems are still on the old platform (sharing on a CD/thumb drive). To not make it come into question if we altered the video or evidence we leave it on the original device. Its possible the defense can question the person who provided the video and ask if that is how they provided it. If its been switched onto a digital server it can make the jury question it.