Category: Articles, Audio-Video Forensics, Law Enforcement & Corrections, Media, Resources for Attorneys, Resources for Experts Why Use of Force Videos in Court Cases Don’t Tell the Whole Story TASA ID: 321 As a former law enforcement officer, a security expert and an expert witness, I have seen countless videos of police using force on a suspect or perpetrator. In today’s world, the use of cameras by the police and by the public in taping an incident, while creating a picture of how the incident went down, do not always tell the entire story or even show the events as they actually happened. The assumption is that if a video shows a police officer using force on someone, it explains the entire scenario. That is not always true! The video can only capture an event and it does not take into account the human elements of fear and other specific details that must be considered. As attorneys, knowing how these human elements play into the use of force by the police in any given situation is imperative when trying a case that involves a use of force video of the police. Read more
Category: Articles, Audio-Video Forensics, Resources for Attorneys, Working With Experts Audio Evidence Forensics: Finding Signals In The Noise The Value of Audio in Proving Your Case TASA ID: 14235 Modern forensic and audio production tools can be very effective in repair and enhancement if it can be done. If a jury can hear recorded dialog so clearly to determine inflections of a voice, the breathing, the tone, then the emotion on tape makes for a far greater impact on the listener. Enhancement can be beneficial to bring out background noise revealing other evidence as well and this is not considered as an edit. Read more
Category: Audio-Video Forensics The Eye in the Sky: Our World According to Digital Closed- Circuit TV Security Systems TASA ID: 620 Remember the 1970's song by The Alan Parsons Project, "The Eye in the Sky"? A memorable line from the lyrics was, "I am the Eye in the sky looking at you. I can read your mind." Have you ever walked down a city street and noticed video cameras on the top of light posts or telephone poles? Why on earth would anybody want to see that city street, let alone you walking down that street? Are public cameras an invasion of privacy, or are they "The Eye in the Sky" trying to read your mind, making adjustments to extraneous elements, and making your life easier? Read more
Category: Audio-Video Forensics Audio Forensics: An Accurate, Arguable and Authentic Approach to Understanding Audio Evidence TASA ID: 620 In the following article, I will describe what works and does not work for two of the main activities of audio forensic experts: voice identification and audio authentication. I will also review and break down the steps and processes I employ and explain why I believe audio forensics is a valuable tool in litigation. Read more