NCJ Number
155514
Date Published
1994
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Many criminal justice practitioners have experience with optical imaging systems, but the use of such systems requires these practitioners to consider legal and evidence admissibility issues.
Abstract
Imaging involves storing documents and photographs as images on small optical disks that can hold up to 40,000 documents each. Imaging technology has grown in recent years to become a powerful information management tool. Benefits of imaging technology include quick and efficient document processing, easy access to documents, multiuser access to the same document, and elimination of misplaced files and lost documents. Other benefits involve reduced data processing needs, the ability to decentralize workers, and the high quality of imaged documents. Imaging has many applications in the criminal justice field, and criminal justice officials who use imaging systems believe that the technology can improve information accuracy, availability, and management. Two uniform laws apply to the admissibility of optical disk records in court, the Uniform Photographic Copies of Business and Public Records as Evidence Act and the Federal Rules of Evidence. Once the decision is made to implement electronic imaging systems for information management, consideration must be paid to the establishment of written procedures, auditing, and acceptance of the technology. 6 endnotes