NEW ALBANY POLICE DEPARTMENT - New Albany, Ohio

A. Crime Scenes
Basic crime scene photography techniques will be used with digital cameras (i.e. - use of
rulers for size orientation, photographing the scene from all sides, etc.).
Digital photography shall be used to provide crime scene documentation, but should never
be used as the sole documentation of a serious crime scene. For serious crime scenes, at
least two digital cameras shall be used for documentation purposes (in addition to a video
camera). The use of the digital camera’s “macro” function can assist in documenting and
photographing small items of evidence in a close-up mode. For the purposes of this
directive, a serious crime scene is defined as one in which an individual has or may die as a
result of his/her injuries (homicide, suicide, arson, etc.) or is the victim of a serious injury
requiring medical treatment (aggravated assault, rape, etc.). A supervisor will be consulted
if there is a question on whether to use one or two digital cameras for photographic
documentation at a crime scene.
For minor crime scenes (incidents of vandalism, criminal damaging, etc.), an officer may
choose to document the scene with only digital images from a single digital camera. If in
doubt as to the seriousness of the offense, a supervisor shall be consulted.
B. Traffic Crash Scenes
Traffic crash scenes that involve serious injuries and/or fatalities shall be documented with
at least two digital cameras. If a traffic crash involves only minor injuries or in cases of hit
skip crashes, a single digital camera may be used to document the scene. Digital images
from traffic crashes are saved on the computer server by the officer.
C. Booking Photographs
When an arrestee is brought into the Police Department for booking/slating purposes, the
arresting officer shall take a digital photograph of the arrestee. The detailed procedures for
taking this photograph are posted in the THF. The officer taking the photograph will review it
to ensure that the digital image is of good quality. All digital photographs taken by an officer
shall be logged on the Digital Photo Log Sheet (PD-00-223) (see Addendum A). If the
photograph is not of sufficient quality, the officer will take another digital photograph until
one of sufficient quality is obtained.
8.3.4 Storage of Digital Images
Officers are responsible for the storage of all digital images (except booking photographs) to the
server. The Police Clerk is responsible for the storage of booking photographs. The Police Clerk
shall save all booking photographs to the server and also attach the photographs to the appropriate
report number in the RMS application.
To maintain the integrity and evidentiary value of digital images and chain-of-evidence procedures,
police officer(s) and/or the Police Clerk shall download digital images directly from the camera’s
storage media (i.e. - Smart Media Card) onto another permanent media (i.e. – computer server or
CD disk). The original images will not be altered or manipulated in any way when being downloaded
from the camera’s original media card.
8.3.5 Requests for Copies of Digital Photographs
On occasion, the Police Department will receive requests for copies of digital images. All requests
for copies of digital images will be referred to the Chief of Police. The Chief of Police will confer with
the City Attorney on requests for digital images involving ongoing cases/investigations. This includes
requests for digital images made through judicial discovery and/or subpoena.
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