I have captured video of a crime, now what?
FOR OVER a decade camera phones have played an important role in capturing photos and videos of important moments in our lives. These phones have allowed us to savour moments by enabling us to have a digital copy of events instead of relying on our fallible memories.
As technology and the digital world advanced, social media emerged, thus giving rise to a marriage between the camera phone and social media. It has become the norm for persons to retrieve their camera phones from their pockets or bags and hit the record button as soon as drama begins to unfold. At the end of the recording of the video it is almost certain that the event that was captured will be circulated on social media with the intent that the video will gain notoriety by going ‘viral’.
The camera phone is not to be outdone by its first and second cousins CCTV cameras and dashboard cameras, which have become increasingly popular. The dashcam and CCTV cameras have the ability to record everything within their view once it is turned on and functioning properly.
Jamaica, as we know it, is a series of events deserving of a spot on Netflix, so it is likely that as you go about your normal lives, that one day either your phone, dashcam or CCTV camera will capture something that is noteworthy. It may even capture a crime or relevant evidence for the prosecution of a crime. There are instances the image captured may be useful to the police in the investigation and prosecution of a crime.
There may also be instances where the circulation of an image or video on social media may compromise an investigation. So what can you do if you have images and videos in your possession?
JAMAICA EYE
The national surveillance system, Jamaica Eye, was launched a few years ago and it has been an effective tool in the crime-fighting strategy as CCTV images are used to detect, solve and successfully prosecute crimes. Private citizens can opt to have their CCTV system connected to Jamaica Eye; however, if your device is not connected to Jamaica Eye and you have found yourself with valuable evidence, it would be prudent to advise the police so that steps can be taken to have that evidence extracted from your device, utilised during investigation and produced in a format that will be accepted by the court as evidence.
If you have captured valuable evidence and you refuse to cooperate with the police, the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, provides ways for the police to lawfully obtain photos or videos. If the police is satisfied that there is material on your device that is required for a criminal investigation, they can serve a preservation notice which will require the person to preserve the relevant data. This notice will prohibit you from deleting, destroying or otherwise making the photo or video unavailable.
If anyone fails to comply with the requirements in the notice, a fine of up to three million dollars or imprisonment of up to seven years can be imposed.
The police can also obtain a search and seizure warrant from the court. This warrant will authorise the police to enter your premises once it is named in the warrant and they will search and seize all relevant devices such as phones, laptops, CCTV camera, dashcam, hard drives, thumb drives, tablet and desktop computers.
Another option available for the police i s for them to obtain a production order from the court. This order would require the person in possession or control of the relevant data to produce it to the police. If you fail to comply with this order, you may face a fine of up to four million dollars or four years’ imprisonment, or both fine and imprisonment.
Digital evidence is useful in the delivery of justice, it can be used to prove the guilt or innocence of an accused. The advantage of this type of evidence is that it allows us to see an incident, without relying only on the recollection of a witness. If you have recorded a video, submit it to the police, you may help to solve a crime.