A better way to cover up
The challenge
You need to present video evidence to a suspect within hours of the arrest but it’s important that the sensitive identities and locations are protected. You need to prepare evidence for court but the face of undercover officers or number plates must be disguised. And, all this must be done quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively. This was becoming a major headache for one police force.
Key benefits
- Easily camouflage and mask people, objects and entire backgrounds
- What used to take 3-4 days is now a 30 minute task
- Disguise and mute audio tracks
- Highlight and enlarge objects for ease of tracking through sequence
- Advanced audit trail ensures integrity of video footage
Previously, the force's Technical Support Unit (TSU) had to use a video-editing suite. Although this would produce good results, it was expensive, difficult to learn and difficult to use. Typically, masking would be done frame by frame and the resulting camouflaged output rendered each time. So, it was not possible to see the results quickly nor was it possible to be sure the results were satisfactory until after the rendering process had finished. Often it could take three to four days to mask a sequence lasting just 10 minutes.
This was of little use to police officers who needed to show suspects the video evidence shortly after the arrest. Scyron presented the force with a low cost, easy to use solution that masked a 10-minute sequence in half an hour. The ability to continue where they left off when interrupted was a real bonus as previously it was difficult to remember where in the sequence they were.
Probably the single most important feature is the audit trail. Any work carried out on the original tape is automatically recorded to an encrypted file. This shows exactly what has been done so that the integrity of the recording is assured. As the man in charge of the TSU says: “The court can be absolutely confident that the evidence has not been doctored in any way.”
The result
The TSU is now able to mask videotapes in the most cost effective way – to impressive timescales that can help officers do their job more effectively. In addition, the solution’s ability to not only mask and camouflage but also highlight objects is helping in both interrogations and presenting evidence in court. It is not surprising that the department has seen a considerable increase in the number of requests for this important task.
