NCJ Number
175753
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 7 Issue: 11 Dated: November 1998 Pages: 13-15
Date Published
1998
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article explains how police can use the tendency of many offenders to video their crimes to increase the chance of a conviction.
Abstract
Next to being able to submit defendants' signed confessions, most law enforcement officers would like to have a videotape of the defendants committing the crime or enjoying the fruits of their criminal activities. This police wish may sometimes become reality, because increasingly a variety of criminals, from sex offenders and vandals to burglars and murderers, have chosen to memorialize their criminal exploits on video. This article cites cases in which a murderer, teen vandals, robbers, sex offenders, and drug users have memorialized their exploits on videotape. Awareness of this growing trend is the key to catching criminals on tape. Investigators must routinely ask offenders, victims, witnesses, and informants about the existence of video evidence in order to establish the probable cause required to seize this important evidence during the execution of a search warrant.