Understanding Forensic Digital Imaging

Understanding Forensic Digital Imaging offers the principles of forensic digital imaging and photography in a manner that is straightforward and easy to digest for the professional and student. It provides information on how to photograph any setting that may have forensic value, details how to follow practices that are acceptable in court, and recommends what variety of hardware and software are most valuable to a practitioner. In addition to chapters on basic topics such as light and lenses, resolution, and file formats, the book contains forensic-science-specific information on SWGIT and the use of photography in investigations and in court. Of particular note is Chapter 17, Establishing Quality Requirements, which offers information on how to create a good digital image, and is more comprehensive than any other source currently available. Covers topics that are of vital importance to the practicing professional Serves as an up-to-date reference in the rapidly evolving world of digital imaging Uses clear and concise language so that any reader can understand the technology and science behind digital imaging

"This hands-on guide clarifies the difference between what can be done digitally and what should be done in a forensic setting, and helps the reader "learn by doing" with exercises and step-by-step instructions. The images and exercises in the CD-ROM provide practical examples of the techniques described in the book." "Law enforcement professionals who follow the recommendations in this text can feel confident that their handling of imaging evidence will stand up to the high standards necessary for prosecuting criminal cases."--BOOK JACKET.

The ability to work with, and retrieve images, is vital to forensic and criminal case work. During a five-decade-long career, author John C. Russ has taught methods for image processing and measurement to thousands of students. Forensic Uses of Digital Imaging, Second Edition distills his classroom and workshop material to present the information m

The digital revolution over the past several decades has advanced every facet of evidence detection, photography, optimization, and interpretation. Forensic scientists and practitioners have benefited tremendously from the move from film to digital. With proper procedures in place, digital images and casework capabilities have increased tremendously in both complexity and range due to a vast array of tools to enhance evidence and photography. Forensic Digital Image Processing: Optimization of Impression Evidence provides the forensic investigator with the tools and understanding to extract, optimize, and interpret the maximum evidence possible from crime scenes to increase identifications. The book begins by examining the emergence of forensic digital image processing, and the gradual improvement and acceptance of the science over the past four decades. Coverage includes looking at the issues of image integrity and authentication including forensic image optimization and the manipulation of images. Chapters explore techniques exploiting color theory, modes, and channels to optimize signal-to-noise ratio in images. One of the greatest assets of digital image technology is the ability to combine multiple images of the same subject to create a final, blended image: one that displays the desired evidence and is especially useful for fingerprint or footwear impression. Later chapters demonstrate image subtraction, focus stacking, and high dynamic range, utilizing images in optimum focus and with substrate interference diminished or removed entirely. The authors look at fast Fourier transform as an optimal tool for noise removal, addressing basic theory and diagnosis of the noise signatures. The book discusses the history of digital imaging techniques and their treatment within the court system. Forensic Digital Image Processing: Optimization of Impression Evidence serves as an invaluable resource and tool for practicing professionals–as well as those new to the field—to look at best practices, the latest technology, and advances in utilizing the increasing array of tools of the trade.

Well-documented scenes can prove to be invaluable pieces of evidence at trial, and the ability to take compelling photographs is a critical skill for forensic scientists and investigators. Practical Forensic Digital Imaging: Applications and Techniques is an up-to-date and thorough treatment of digital imaging in the forensic sciences. Balancing practical considerations with scientific and standards-based requirements, the book’s clear, concise presentation illustrates the essentials of digital imaging required by professionals in the field. Enhanced with crisp color photos, the book covers a host of critical topics, including: The fundamentals of photographing crime scenes The history of photography and the transition to digital imaging Digital camera hardware and photographic techniques Light, filters, and macro/micro imaging Lay, professional, and expert witnesses, and the implications of Frye and Daubert Enhancement of images and digital panoramic camera scanning Storage of digital media Ultraviolet and infrared imaging Digital photo imaging microscopes Covering the full range of scenarios that forensic professionals encounter, the author includes special sections dedicated to photography involving footwear and tire impressions, vehicles, death and morgue scenes, and taphonomic and entomological imaging, as well as fingerprints, burglaries, fire and arson, sex offenses, blood, and trace evidence and microscopy. The techniques in this volume enable photographers to capture the images that will not only tell the story, but will also stand up in court. Watch Patrick Jones in his laboratory on the CRC Press YouTube channel.

Alternate Light Source Imaging provides a brief guide to digital imaging using reflected infrared and ultraviolet radiation for crime scene photographers. Clear and concise instruction illustrates how to accomplish good photographs in a variety of forensic situations. It demonstrates how tunable wavelength light sources and digital imaging techniques can be used to successfully locate and document physical evidence at the crime scene, in the morgue, or in the laboratory. The scientific principles that make this type of photography possible are described, followed by the basic steps that can be utilized to capture high quality evidentiary photographs.

Photographic imagery has come a long way from the pinhole cameras of the nineteenth century. Digital imagery, and its applications, develops in tandem with contemporary society’s sophisticated literacy of this subtle medium. This book examines the ways in which digital images have become ever more ubiquitous as legal and medical evidence, just as they have become our primary source of news and have replaced paper-based financial documentation. Crucially, the contributions also analyze the very profound problems which have arisen alongside the digital image, issues of veracity and progeny that demand systematic and detailed response: It looks real, but is it? What camera captured it? Has it been doctored or subtly altered? Attempting to provide answers to these slippery issues, the book covers how digital images are created, processed and stored before moving on to set out the latest techniques for forensically examining images, and finally addressing practical issues such as courtroom admissibility. In an environment where even novice users can alter digital media, this authoritative publication will do much so stabilize public trust in these real, yet vastly flexible, images of the world around us.