“Sorry about the cold.”
Detective Patrick Smith mock shivers as he sits down at his desk. The morning was unseasonably chilly, even for February, in a state known for its year-round arid warmth. But Arizona has also recently become known for something else–crime. Gang violence, home invasions, kidnapping, drugs, and, of course, the constant pain of illegal border crossing. As crime has intensified in this state, so has the Arizona State Police Department’s ability to fight it.
The agency is equipped with its own computer forensics department and training facility. Since its inception, this unique department has grown into a space for statewide officers to bring their cases, stay a week or two while they work, getting help from experts on site. It’s an ideal combination for uncovering buried data in a suspect’s hardware and software.
And, as it turns out, an inspiring model for video forensics, too. Just ask Detective Smith.
“I got going in 1998 doing computer forensics. I took what I learned there, started doing video. I had a VCR and knew Photoshop. I’d take frames, clean them up as best I could. Word got out about this, I guess, and people started coming to me for help.”
Visiting officers make a point to stop by Smith’s area, dropping off evidence or checking on current cases. He’s become the go-to guy for video forensics in the state, his desk the central hub for all things digital.
Now he handles from 20 to 40 cases a month. And unlike most state or local tech officers, he’s able to turn evidence around remarkably fast. Often, right at the scene of the crime.
“I’m pulling stills, and I can put it out to the media from there. Just a face sometimes, but it gives us a chance for immediate response from the public.”
In fact, in some cases, they’ve nabbed a guy before he’s even made his getaway.
He’s able to turn evidence around remarkably fast. Often, right at the scene of the crime.
“It was a robbery case. Convenience store. Some people saw the image on TV, called in saying ‘he’s at the bus stop!’”
Detective Smith’s bemused intensity as he relates this story hints at how unusual that arrest was, but the truth is most of the time they’re able to at least get a solid lead within three to four days of releasing the image.
That’s how it’s been for the last few years. In that time, his technology has evolved and improved. But even after a decade of examining evidence, he still has the ability to be surprised at some of the stranger aspects of the criminal mind.
“This one guy broke into a bar, “he explains. “The footage we got shows him just watching TV for awhile. His legs propped up, just chilling out. Then he gets up, sets the place on fire and leaves.”
Or a Phoenix store robbery that shows you can’t trust anyone by how they look.
“An elderly gentleman came into an insurance office, asked the lady there for directions. She helped him, he left. Then the man came back a few moments later and stole her cell phone and car. Two different cameras got the whole thing. Voice, all of it.”
Or the time Glendale Police called him to a scene.
“It was a home invasion that went bad. Three people dead. But a few houses down someone had a security camera, so we got a shot of the suspect’s car as he drove by.”
And that’s how video forensic work operates today. A camera, either at the scene or nearby, catches a shot of something, records it on a DVR or videotape. Detective Smith quickly turns the footage around, cleans it up, gets approval from his superior (often right there at the scene) and, when appropriate, releases it to the media.
It’s a constant tension, though–trying to get an image out quickly, but also being mindful of issues of liability and privacy. The latter is one of the reasons he’s wary of utilizing something like YouTube to expose footage to the general public.
“One agency approached us, but it’s hard for us to release footage that way. So much we’d have to edit out, so much we’d have to cover. If the subject was arrested and released, but that footage is still up there, he could be re-tagged.”
The detective shakes his head. “Very bad…local agencies trust us to only release the right stuff. Our policies and procedures are pretty strict, we make sure anything inappropriate is blurred out.”
Because timing is so critical–and because Arizona’s a pretty big state–Smith has endeavored to teach local agencies how to handle the basic elements of video forensics.
“If they’ll invest in a system, I’ll teach them enough to get them going. Any sophisticated enhancement, they can still come to us.”
This spreading out of expertise, even at an introductory level, has helped ease Patrick’s caseload while quickening the turnaround time for a case in places like Peoria or Phoenix (where the local agency can release the footage themselves).
Smith plans to use the computer forensics department as a model for his department’s future growth–so that this station becomes a centralized area where officers and analysts can come and work on video evidence, too. A bigger, highly equipped staff will be on hand, along with all the necessary technologies, to assist as needed.
“Speed is the main thing. Five years from now, every crime will be recorded on video. All our agencies will need someone who can get to their local crime scenes and have an image out to the media in 15 minutes. Our office here will need a ramped-up set of equipment so we can deal with all the evidence coming in. Tie into it from wherever they are and help output it quickly from DVRs or whatever the technology is then.”
“Speed is the main thing. Five years from now, every crime will be recorded on video."
He points to a collection of badges near his desk, a glimmering row of stars amidst his landscape of computers, monitors and scanners. Each badge bears an insignia of a local agency.
“I feel like I’m part of all of them, and help them however I can.”
THE LOWDOWN ON PATRICK’S FAST TURNAROUND.
Detective Smith is able to clean up and release footage at the scene of a crime using his unique recovery kit. Designed to handle a variety of archival methods, his kit can procure removable media like CDs, DVDs, USB drives and flash media. It contains a laptop computer, DVD writer, flash media reader and scan converter. Using a laptop that also incorporates forensic video analysis software helps Patrick verify the video evidence right at the scene and provides enhanced images at the time of recovery.
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