Crime & Clues

An In Depth Analysis of an Emerging Trend within the Computer Age
by
Robert B. Fried, BS, MS

Digital Photography was written while Robert Fried was a graduate student at the University of New Haven. Fried can be reached directly at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

What do manufacturers such as Agfa, Canon, Epson, Fuji film, Kodak and Olympus have in common? They are only a small fraction of the rapidly growing list of companies involved in the new era spawning within the imaging industry, specifically in the digital realm. Digital photography is an emerging trend, although the concept has been around for nearly two decades.

Digital cameras have been on the market for quite some time. In fact, "people in the computer industry have been talking about digital photography for years, even before Apple introduced the first digital camera for consumers, the QuickTake 100, early in 1994" (Alsop, 220). A digital camera is just one aspect of digital photography. Although you need the camera, in order to capture the image, there are many different tools and equipment that encompass the overall concept of digital photography. In fact, in order to develop a complete digital photography solution, "what was needed was a system of products that would work together to help one take, store, manage, and display pictures, both on PCs and in familiar snapshot form" (Alsop, 220). Thanks to advancements in technology this system is available today. It is essentially comprised of a digital camera, a scanner, a photo-quality printer, photo-editing software and a digital photo album (Alsop 220-221).

Using Criminals' Videos Against Them

By Edward F. Davis, M.S., and Anthony J. Pinzotto, Ph.D.

This article originally appeared in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, November, 1998. It appears on the internet at http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/leb.htm

In Sparta, Michigan, a 16-year-old high school dropout with a criminal record bludgeons a man to death, then cuts off his head. At home, the youth repeatedly slashed the severed head with a butcher knife, and removes the brain. Detectives recover the head wrapped in plastic outside the youth's home. [1]

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, five teenagers vandalize and burglarize eight homes and a school. During their escapades, they blow up a live sea trout in a microwave and get a dog high on marijuana. [2]

In Los Angeles, a group of teens assaults people with "paint balls," the projectiles from paint guns. According to news reports they "whoop it up as each victim falls or writhes in pain." They call their "game," "bashing," or "human head baseball." [3]

In Washington, D.C., five men rob, beat, and urinate on their victim. Following the incident, the men interview one another, pretending they are on the news documentary, "City Under Siege." The men are found guilty of a variety of charges, including armed robbery, conspiracy, and weapons violations. [4]

In each of these incidents, the offenders were convicted by evidence they had created themselves. They had videotaped their exploits, providing incontrovertible evidence of their crimes. Whether they do so to immortalize their actions, to achieve "stardom," or to gain favor with their cohorts, when perpetrators videotape their crimes, law enforcement officers can use those tapes against them.