The threat of digital photography to the evidentiary scheme of justice
The threat of digital photography to the evidentiary scheme of justice
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Issue Date
2008
Authors
Dunmeyer, Michelle W.
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Abstract
The effect of manipulated and altered visual evidence has the potential to be catastrophic to the justice system, providing fraudulent evidence which poses a danger that may lead to the conviction of the innocent and the release of the guilty. This study explores the potential threat that digital technology presents to the justice system through an experiment which illustrates the manipulation detection ability of a group of participants representative of a jury panel. In this study, the overall manipulation detection rate of 65.6% is substantially low compared to a scientific standard of 90%. Major manipulations are found 1.75 times more often than minor alterations. Experienced examiners detect only 3% more manipulations than those without experienced. The threat of digital technology to the evidentiary scheme of justice is real; however, creating awareness of the manipulation potential of photographic images may minimize the threat to the integrity of photographic evidence.
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Forensic sciences