The evidential value of having an extensive CCTV infrastructure in the UK - both for public space and private surveillance - has been underlined over the past month by the presentation of key footage in a number of major court cases.
Dramatic images released to the media with regards to the £53 million robbery at a cash depot in Kent - thought to be the largest incident of its kind in the UK - show an armed gang carrying out the raid, vital footage which has helped the police to piece together the sequence of events and, crucially, was presented to jurors in court as part of an ongoing case at the Old Bailey in London.
Some of the most impressive CCTV images used in a recent court case have to be those associated with the attempted attacks in London two weeks after the tragic events of 7/7. Images which have helped to support the convictions of four men for conspiracy to murder, a process undoubtedly assisted by nearly 28,000 CCTV recordings gathered by the police which was then cut-down to seven hours of relevant footage on buses, trains and stations and then put forward as evidence. Perhaps the most striking sequence, captured by CCTV cameras, was of one of the would be bombers being confronted by an off-duty fire-fighter on a tube train - after his device failed to explode - and then subsequent footage of the culprit fleeing the scene pursued by members of the public.
Of course given the prolific uptake of digital video recording and the widespread use of digital images for evidential purposes in high profile cases, such as those highlighted above, it is absolutely vital that best practice is adhered to so adequate weight can be given to this material. The need for definitive guidance in this area led the BSIA to draft a Code of Practice for ‘Digital Recording' systems to cover key elements such as image quality, image authenticity, storage, image export, operator/owner awareness and the critical audit trail. Crucially, this guidance has been so well received that the key elements the Code of Practice will form the basis of a new British Standard - BS 8495, the Code of Practice for Digital CCTV Recording Systems for the Purpose of Image Export to be used as Evidence, which is to be published in the near future.
