NCJ Number
183865
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 27 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2000 Pages: 52-56
Date Published
June 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A study conducted in central Indiana suggests that digital photography used by police officers who are first responders to domestic assault incidents can double the likelihood of a conviction, mostly through plea bargains, even in cases in which the victim refuses to testify.
Abstract
The study began in the spring of 1998 through a nonprofit agency in cooperation with the prosecutors’ offices of Marion and Hamilton counties (Indiana) and with numerous local police agencies. The study provided police officers with the equipment and training necessary to take high-quality images quickly. The research chose digital technology because it combines adequate resolution, good tonal scale, point-and-shoot simplicity, and a liquid-crystal-display-view screen on the camera back. Twenty-five police officers from eight police agencies participated in training and received equipment. Not all of them had active roles in the study. The research compared 27 experimental cases that used digital photography and 49 control cases. Cases documented with digital cameras were more than twice as likely to result in a guilty plea, compared with cases lacking photo documentation. In addition, convicted offenders were ordered to serve time in custody three times as often as those involved in cases lacking photo documentation. Cost analysis revealed that each camera paid for itself by saving only one trial through producing a plea bargain. Findings indicated that digital photography is a useful technology in investigating any personal crime and suggested the need for several procedures to make the technique effective. Photographs