Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q - Do you undertake Legal Aid casework?

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A - Yes we do accept Legal Aid casework however, we ask that payment on account be sought at the soonest opportunity so that our fees can be paid within our 30days T&C's.  

 

 

 Q- Do you undertake privately paying clients?

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A- Yes we are happy to be instructed by privately paying clients however , we will not accept instruction if:

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- you are facing criminal charges and are not represented by a legal professional such as a Solicitor or Barrister.

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 Q- Do you undertake work for the Crown Prosecution Service or the Police?

 

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A - Yes, our duty is to the Court and not to the person who instructs or pays us, we are impartial and independent of anyone body. 

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 Q- I am a solicitor and have been served with CCTV footage I have been told I should be looking at the RAW data, How do I know what I have is best evidence?

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A - It is so often the case that the Police will serve a pre-prepared DVD compilation which is comprised of many CCTV cameras from multiple formats. Whilst this is usually the product of many hours work and an excellent resource in understanding what has happened, the original material or the 'Raw Data' might have been subject to a loss in quality. IT IS VITAL that you request this material if you are to instruct a Forensic Video Analyst as this will be of the optimum quality available. We can of course work with whatever you have but we will be sure to mention in our reports our assessment of the footage quality and the potential effects of such material.

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Q- How do I get the Raw Data?

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A- If the supplying Police force are operation within the current ACPO or their own force guidelines a 'Master copy' of the incident footage should have been download and stored in evidence, you should be asking for a direct copy or 'working copy of this material - If the material you have has titles ( Met Police or other force livery) its not what you are looking for.  We  strongly advise that you request the Raw data through the Court at the point of  being presented with the the digital evidence  ( we can assist with training your staff to recognise this content here).

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 Q- I am a solicitor and I have been served with a mobile footage recording of a CCTV monitor is this best evidence?

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A -1.......2........3.....4.......5..........10 and breath...... There are plenty of reasons why this type of material is coming through the system. Frontline Police Officers are using their Mobile devices be that a body camera ,  tablet or mobile phone, the fact there there is an air gap in itself rules out/reduces a significant amount of detail that we can use for a Forensic examination this type of evidence is sufficient if the Police need a hasty description for example but should not be relied upon  and should be contested if the content is being used to comment on:

 

• facial detail.

• clothing  and or footwear detail.

• height and proportion.

• tone and or colour of a vehicle garment or similar.

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Too many times have we seen convictions based on this type of evidence without the any consideration  ( or a lack of Exhibit evidence) from the Court on its reliability  so we ask that you call us or any of our colleagues and peers to get advice!

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Q- I am looking at CCTV footage which is in black and white. The Police say that the clients is wearing a blue top but it looks white, are they wrong?

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A- So this sounds like the footage that you have has been recorded in black and white or monochrome format and is potentially a night-vision or Infra Red  (IR) format camera. These cameras generally operate in low light using Infra Read light ( which is invisible to the human eye). The Infra Red light is normally projected by small LED's fitted to the camera face. this light floods the area to the front of the camera; anyone passing through this light will normally appear brighter as they pass through the light concentration. There clothing for example will look bright or a different colour. Depending on the chemical construction the clothing with visually be different of of a different tone. this can affect all sorts of materials hard and soft so caution should be advised on anyone giving evidence based on the this type of material - have they considered the technical aspects of the digital evidence?

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