Digital Evidence Management - BWC TTA
32
This material was supported by Grant No. 2019-BC-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). BJA is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Points of view or opinions contained herein do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Digital Evidence Management Issues, Answers, and Challenges for Body-Worn Camera Footage Dr. Craig D. Uchida, BWC TTA Senior Advisor, JSS Michelle Stern, Fort Lauderdale Police Department Kalpesh Chotai, State Attorney’s Office, 17 th Judicial Circuit, Broward County Damon Mosler, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Transcript of Digital Evidence Management - BWC TTA
This material was supported by Grant No. 2019-BC-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). BJA is a component of the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Points of view or opinions contained herein do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Digital Evidence ManagementIssues, Answers, and Challenges for Body-Worn Camera FootageDr. Craig D. Uchida, BWC TTA Senior Advisor, JSSMichelle Stern, Fort Lauderdale Police DepartmentKalpesh Chotai, State Attorney’s Office, 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward CountyDamon Mosler, San Diego County District Attorney’s Office
Meeting Logistics
• Muting• Meeting is recorded• Chat questions• Edit you name• Meeting and session evaluation
3
Dr. Craig D. Uchida, BWC TTA Senior Advisor and President, JSS
Michelle Stern, Body Camera Administrator, Fort Lauderdale (FL) Police Department
Kalpesh Chotai, Digital Evidence Unit Supervisor, Office of the State Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County, Florida
Damon Mosler, Deputy District Attorney, Chief of Economic Crimes, San Diego County (CA) District Attorney’s Office
4
Overview
‣Digital Evidence Management: What is it?
‣DEM Pilot Project/BWC Footage Flowchart
‣Video Analytics and Redaction
‣DEM in Broward County/Fort Lauderdale, FL
‣DEM in San Diego County, CA
Digital Evidence Management: What is it?
6
Digital Evidence Management
7
‣ Digital evidence is “information and data of value to an investigation that is stored on, received, or transmitted by an electronic device.”
‣ Importance of processing digital evidence has increased in recent decades
‣ Examples: cell phone data, computer data, video footage, BWC video, DICV, internet communications, etc.
DEM Pilot Project
Examine how footage is used in five jurisdictions
1Track the numbers of videos at each stage of the process
2Determine the issues and challenges agencies face
3
9
Uploaded to Server
Compliance Checks
Arrests
Critical Incidents (i.e.
Use of Force, Officer-Involved Shootings, etc.)
Upload Fails
Camera Not Activated
Detectives
Chain of Command
Chain of Command
Prosecutor’s Office
Public Dissemination
Defense Courts
Ad Hoc Training
Body Worn Camera Footage FlowChart
Discovery
Encounters/ Incidents Requiring
BWC Video
Video Analytics and Redaction
‣ Why is this important? ‣ Vast amount of footage that is
collected, stored, and retained‣ Storage capacity: When do you
purge? What do you purge?‣ What is important to save? ‣ Are there ways to assist you?
10
Video Analytics
‣ Categorization and tagging‣ Redacting/editing
capabilities
‣ Software compatibility with video analysis‣ Other issues –
searches and storage 11
Availability of Analytics
‣ Information is piecemeal‣ NIJ conducted a market
survey in 2016‣ Preliminary findings:‣ Of 37 vendors in 2016, 26
are still active‣ 26 vendors are offering 36
BWCs
12
VideoAnalytics
‣ Most of the 2020 devices/vendors offered:
‣ Tagging abilities‣ Redaction software‣ Third-party access
‣ Few vendors mentioned DICV synchronization ‣ No vendors mentioned audio-to-text
software13
DEM in Broward County, FL
‣ Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD)‣ Office of the State
Attorney, 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County
BWC Program in FLPD‣ Department overview ‣ 535 Sworn officers‣ 33 square miles ‣ Population of 171,544
‣ Implementation of program in December 2018 ‣ ~1,100 cameras ‣ 393,553 videos as of 8/4/2020 ‣ Retention of BWC videos depends on
categorization
15
BWC Regional Group
‣ Regional Group – collaborative partnership‣ LE agencies using or
considering the use of BWCs‣ Members of the State
Attorney’s Office ‣ BWC countywide challenges and
resolutions
16
BWC Footage Release Practices‣ Establish release
guidelines early ‣ Plan for public records
requests, FOIAs, etc. ‣ Cost ‣ Personnel‣ Redaction‣ Delivery Method
‣ Review state statutes and release exemptions 17
Key Considerations for DEM‣ Corrections to metadata‣ Tagging delays, case
number issues, etc.‣ Notifications to officers
‣ Auto-tagging‣ Retention category and state
public records guidelines
18
Office of the State Attorney 17th Judicial Circuit, Broward County
‣ Office Overview‣ County population: 1.95 million ‣ SAO personnel: ~525 employees‣ Law enforcements agencies:‣ 16 city agencies ‣ 16 BSO districts (including courthouse and
airport/seaport)
19
20
Digital Evidence Unit in SAO
‣ Countywide‣ 848,400 evidence
files ‣ ~80,000 cases as of
8/4/20
Digital Evidence Unit in SAO
‣ Multi-agencyResponse/Statewide LE Response‣ Local Jurisdictions‣ Statewide Agencies‣ Tribal LE Agencies
22
Video Redaction and Release
‣ Redaction of Video for Marsy`sLaw/Trial/Public Records Request
‣ “Sunshine State” and “Open Discovery”
‣ Releasing video from specialized units
‣ Importance of training on evolving disclosure laws
23
Role of DEM in Prosecution ‣ Coordination with defense and courts‣ Delivery methods‣ Proprietary file formats ‣ Incorporation of digital evidence from
witnesses, victims, etc.
24
Prosecutor’s Office Defense CourtsDiscovery
Impacts of DEM in Broward County
‣ Cases with digital evidence resolve more frequently‣ Prior to trial‣ Diversion programs
‣ All parties save time and resources‣ Reduction in time that
officers are in depositions
25
DEM in San Diego County
San Diego County
‣ 3,200 Sworn with cameras - 11 departments
‣ 3.33 million people over 4,500 square miles
‣ 2019: ‣ 235,000+ videos‣ 80,000+ hours of tape‣ 145+ TB data
‣ 350 Criminal Prosecutors –SD DA and SD CA
27
What crimes involve digital evidence?
29
Getting BWC videos to the prosecutor and defense
30
Make sure all have it
31
Courtroom Use and Release
32
Contact Information
‣ Dr. Craig Uchida, JSS: [email protected]
‣ Michelle Stern, FLPD: [email protected]
‣ Kalpesh Chotai, SAO: [email protected]
‣ Damon Mosler, DAO: [email protected]
33
