This is the response received from Bob Hooker following an intitial coffee meeting.
BACKGROUND:
When I joined the New Zealand Police in 1977, there was a formal career path for the forensic aspect of the Police. This was known as the Criminal Records Branch, and covered the fields of photography, document examination and fingerprints. There were set levels of training with a qualifying exam until the next level could be obtained, and took a member through from Constable level to Sergeant, Senior Sergeant and Inspector levels.
Possible short term training with other Countries Police was available further up the qualifying path.
My role as a Police photographer started in Masterton as a “part-time” photographer. My duties also included forensic duties with fingerprinting an crime scene examination techniques being learnt, as well as time in the C.I.B.
I was still required to attend the Police Training School, to be taught and examined at each of the stages that a city Police photographer was also completing.
It was not until the mid/late 1980’s that my skill in the photography field was recognised, and a formal job title of FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHER & CRIME SCENE EXAMINER was created. This was at a time when mysteriously, the Photography side of the CRB structure disappeared. It transpired that a member within Police did not see the value of having sworn Police Officers as photographers, and believed that internal Police photographers could be fazed out, and that professional photographers in the public sector could be requested as and when needed. Luckily, this was not accepted, but Police Photographers lost their CRB structure, and it was not until some years later that a qualifying training system was developed with NZQA qualifications. This allowed some recognition in the public sector of the Police Photographers ability.
Masterton ( Wairarapa Police District ) is the only Police area that has the Police Photographer trained as a Crime Scene Officer also. In other areas, the Police Photographer would only take images or video, and not undertake scene examination, documentation and the collection and preservation of evidential material.
As photographers we could cover basic product type images (found property image for the local News Paper ) , images of victims, general scene images (burglary’s, property disputes)
through to the complex scenes of serious/fatal motor vehicle, train and aircraft crashes and homicide scenes. The list is really endless.
We have been asked to assist Historic Places Trust with burial sights and located human remains that had been discovered, assist Ministry of Primary Industries with Fisheries investigations and photograph commercial truck tyres for the Ministry of Transport.
Work was also regularly completed for Work Safe and Civil Aviation.
Locally, we complete all our digital processing and printing in-house. This includes printing booklets of images/plans and documents for all levels of Court appearances. In the major centres, the printing and document production would be completed by non- sworn Police staff.
QUESTIONS:
- For you, what are the important aspects of forensic Photography?
Attention to detail. Generally we would have one chance, and one chance only to record the images before the scene or item could or would be changed.
Good photographic principals and methods.
Accuracy in taking the images knowing where they could end up beyond a Police document.
(Court cases, Coroners Court, published documents )
Completing notes at the time, or contemporaneously of the job you had completed,
there-by giving a visual and written document.
Inclusion of scales or scene aids, and the use of filters such as neutral density and polarizing as appropriate.
- Forensic photography creates a permanent visual record of the crime scene in the state in which it was originally found and plays a huge role throughout the entire investigation. Can you explain how you approach this or does it depend on the individual circumstances?
The circumstances dictate the approach. A simple scene may not need definitive planning, where a complex scene may require discussion with other accompanying staff as to staff movement, and who else can come into the scene.
Mechanical aids such as “stepping plates” can be used, the Fire Services High Access ladder truck, to aerial platforms.
Today, drones or helicopters can be deployed for initial reconnoitre. Direct feed from visual recording devises are also possible, minimising staff intrusion.
Often scenes will unfold as we move into them and recalculations are made.
We are taught to start from the outside of a scene and walk into it, taking images at “normal” viewing height and with a “standard lens” that replicates the normal visual range.
(wide angled and telephoto lenses can distort perspective. If these lenses are used, you need to record why they were used)
A room is covered from all angles, often this can also be completed for an outside scene.
“Items” of known or apparent interest would be photographed in a wide shot, a mid-range and then close-up. There could be more than 3 images taken of the item, and it could also include different angles into the same item. Adding light by bounce or multiple flash units or bounce boards can help illuminate the item.
Often an image is taken that will appear or help to orientate the next image taken.
Scene aids can be added into the scene once “naked” images have been completed. These can include measuring scales, directional arrows, scene number and cones.
Note book entries made during the shoot, can help make ensure that everything has been covered, and a quick review of the digital images taken can show if something has been inadvertently overlooked.
The staff who are requesting the images can review the taken images, and if necessary, request further images.
The use of a tripod is generally used which assists in maintaining the same perspective height ( especially in buildings) This has a quick release head to allow freeholding of the camera.
Although scenes can vary from inside to outside, daylight to darkness, clear weather to inclement weather, flat ground to the side of a hill, the apparently mundane to the “oh my god”, the approach is dictated to the collection of the best images possible – attention to detail.
- The images play a key role in reconstructing the events which took place and give jurors a clear image of the crime. How difficult is it to achieve this? What are the key areas to consider and avoid?
Scenes can never be reconstructed. They can only be recorded as we now find them. We can only use the correct photographic skills and techniques to record the scenes. (Modern
quality digital cameras can create an image in almost total darkness given the right amount of time )
We were taught, and I would, use the appropriate focal length lens to minimise distortion.
Fill the frame.
I would use the correct f stop to provide the greatest depth of field, unless selective focus was appropriate ( but record both images )
I would try to have balanced lighting to have the image exposed correctly, with no deep shadows. (what are you hiding/not showing what is in there )Add flash for balanced lighting.
I would ensure there is no extraneous clutter in the background (eg: Other Police staff standing around, Police cars/ambulances/fire trucks, members of the public )
These things we do have control over but sometimes the weather is something we can not control. Many a scene has been completed being shot from under the brim of an umbrella.
We can help control darkness with flash ”painting with light” or long exposures, or increased ISOs with the modern digital cameras.
There have been many times when I have had to carry equipment into remote scenes. Helicopters are great to allow extra equipment to be carried in. Forward planning with the basic essentials was critical before we left the safety of the office.
Taking great care of all the camera equipment helped to lessen the chance of breakdown if one hadn’t taken care, and you were now remote from the station, and no chance of back-up.
- How do you separate your personal professional photography skills from that of being a forensic photographer, or are they complimentary?
I believe they are complimentary. The longer I was completing work for Police, the less I would find myself going out in search of images ( landscape or nature )for myself, unless I was on holiday.
Good camera skills, composition etc. were part and parcel of work and home photography.
With work I couldn’t wait for the right mood light for a scene, or work around the witching hour. There were however times when these ideal lighting situations occurred at less than pleasant scenes, and this often took the harsh reality away.
- What is in your kit bag. How has it changed if at all.(assume you have only used digital equipment.
Now retired from Police I have:
Canon EOS 1DX
24-70mm F2.8 L II USM
Canon 70-300 1:4.4 – 5.6 IS USM
Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite flash
Filters and lens hoods, tripods.
Olympus Tough Point and Shoot digital camera
Trusty I-Phone.
- Are there any special techniques that you use to ensure all evidence has been captured?
Painting with light using multiple flash bursts was used often to cover scenes at night.
Long exposures were used when completing luminol images. Luminol is a reagent that reacts with blood that is not visible to the naked eye. Complete darkness is required, the luminol is sprayed onto an area to be checked, and a long exposure is required to capture the resulting glow. (Generally only a one chance situation )
Guessing the best technique was remaining unflustered, applying attention to detail and being methodical.
Digital photography allows multiple images to be taken and viewed, which film based photography didn’t.
- Has there ever been a case where images that you have taken have affected the outcome of the case?
Only to a positive affect that I am aware of. That is, images can validate what a witness may say.
(If we had the luxury of a full briefing before attending the scene, I could ensure that information the victim/witness had provided to Police could be covered off with images.
By being methodical, and completing the same basic images, I believe the images only enhance the details put before the court, to give the most complete picture possible.
“A picture tells a thousand words”)
- Have your professional skills ever been questioned during an investigation?
No.
My credibility was earned by the courses and qualifications I attended and obtained, and the work that I completed and presented either to Police or to the Courts.
- There have been cases reported of mistaken identity (ID shots) or false memory in court cases, how important do you think forensic photography is in playing the part of scene sitting (setting??) and memory recall of witnesses.
Photographers can only record the scene as we find it. We can all view the same scene in different ways with minor and major details. The camera doesn’t lie. Witnesses/victims would have provided a verbal statement at the very least, and a written/typed statement.
Human recall can be affected by a lot of different factors.
- Do you think the image only shows the facts.
The images taken by the photographer, shows the facts at that split second that the shutter falls. Lighting may have changed, as could the weather from the actual time of the event. In the case of road crashes, well-meaning members of the public will clear or move debris in the scene. Offenders/witnesses may have changed scenes for many reasons
Scenes may evoke emotion to some people possibly from the starkness of the images, or that they or family members have had a similar incident. Is that a fact ?
Does fact become blurred with emotion?
Often truly gruesome/graphic images will not be included into Court documents for the Jury/public to see, as these images can go beyond the evidential value. Defence Council/Prosecutions and Judges will have pretrial conferences to ensure prudent and evidential images are selected.
Sometimes the facts (images) can be to graphic !!
Today Police can use 3dimensional imaging, and “walk” the jury through the scene. This can be more confronting than a flat photograph.
Aerial drones allow another perspective, as can video walkthroughs. These can all record the facts of the scene at that time.
How people interpret those facts is up to that individual. ( do they have depth perception issues or colour blindness ?? )
- How much of the process is based on your perspective? Do you think this could affect the outcome or does the camera never lie ?
As the photographer, the images would have been taken from my perspective. The images were also taken with the same methodology as we were trained to do. We were trained to take images “warts and all”. We were trained to take images of the items in front of us in the conditions that we encountered. We were trained to record these visually, and trained to write notes pertaining to those scenes.
The camera could be made to record the scene with less accuracy, by poor technique.
We could be questioned by our peer review, by staff who requested the images to be taken, and ultimately by the Court if the images did not portray the scenes correctly.
All Police photographers come from trained front-line staff. The requirements of correct evidence gathering, the requirements of correct documentation, and the evidential requirements for court remain instilled in a photographers brain. The capturing, processing and storage of images, and ultimately the presentation of those images all comes from the requirements of that initial training.
I hope, I was always impartial to what I saw and recorded.
Michele Usher 