THE APPLICATION OF PHOTOGRAPHY IN TACKLING EMERGING CRIME Paul Michael Gilmour Associate The Royal Photographic Society May 2017 Copyright for this thesis rests with the author and other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal use without prior permission or charge however, cannot be reproduced without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder(s). The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially without permission. When referring to this work, please cite as follows: GILMOUR, P. M. (2017). The Application of Photography in Tackling Emerging Crime, A thesis submitted for Associateship of The Royal Photographic Society, pagination. © 2017 Paul Michael Gilmour ALL RIGHTS RESERVED To dad, in loving memory, Squibbs xx ABSTRACT The cost of crime to the world economy is significant. As crime has evolved it has become more organised and increasingly cyber enabled and is committed across borders of law enforcement jurisdictions. Furthermore, the social, political, financial and technological demands facing crime investigators are increasing. However, little attention has been given to the ways in which photography can help tackle emerging crime. This study examines the current literature to enable a thorough understanding and evaluation of current theory and context. The study focuses on key advancements in imaging science and discusses the benefits of photography in a wider range of crime investigations. It acknowledges the challenges that the criminal justice system has to deal with and examines them with references to case studies. Overall, this study makes a significant contribution to the understanding and application of forensic photography. Photography plays a key role but must embrace continual change to ensure that it remains relevant to modern policing. Fresh approaches are essential and practitioners must fully utilise new technologies and be accepting of increasingly demanding social expectations. ii DECLARATION I hereby declare that this paper submitted for Associateship in the category of Research, Education and Applications of Photography has been composed solely by myself and has not been accepted in any previous application for any award of degree, professional qualification or photographic distinction. All work presented in this paper was, unless acknowledged, completed by myself and represents original research. All sources of information in the text have been acknowledged by reference. In addition, all the images that appear in this paper are my own except the ones that have been acknowledged, and permission to use these images was kindly granted. Paul Michael Gilmour 2017 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank all those who have helped me along the way. First, I would like to thank the staff and council at The Royal Photographic Society, who supported me during my tenure as regional organiser, especially Andy Moore LRPS, Vanessa Slawson FRPS, Dr Del Barrett ARPS, Walter Benzie Hon FRPS and Emily Mathisen. Thanks too to Susan Brown FRPS, Dr Michael Pritchard FRPS, Dr Mark Buckley-Sharp ARPS and Professor Elizabeth Edwards for their advice about the Society’s distinctions. I also wish to thank colleagues and friends within the society: David Ashcroft LRPS, Dr Lilian Hobbs LRPS, Dave Peckham, Martin Silman and Kate Lomax LRPS. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the late Dr Martin Tunley of Portsmouth University, Marie Durina of Riley Welch LaPorte & Associates Forensic Laboratories, Susan Winter of the Environment Agency, Stephanie Rankin of Locard’s Lab blog and Victor Stern of Ekofastba S.L. for providing helpful references in specialist areas of research and for kindly granting permission for the use of images. Above all, I thank my wonderful wife and children for their patience, understanding and support throughout. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ..................................................................................................... vi List of Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................. vii Glossary of Terms .............................................................................................. ix Chapters 1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 2. Emerging Crime Trends ..................................................................... 3 2.1. Background and Current Position .................................... 3 3. A Modern Approach to Forensic Photography .............................. 6 3.1. From Crime Scene to Court ............................................... 6 3.2. Creative Use of Photography ............................................ 17 3.3. Painting with Light ............................................................ 19 4. Alternative Light Techniques ........................................................... 26 4.1. UV/IR Photography .......................................................... 26 4.2. Raman Spectroscopy ......................................................... 34 4.3. Hyperspectral Imaging ...................................................... 37 5. Aerial Photography ............................................................................. 40 5.1. Remote Sensing using Hyperspectral Imaging ................. 40 5.2. Landsat ............................................................................... 44 5.3. Light Detection and Ranging ............................................ 45 5.4. Geotagging ......................................................................... 48 5.5. The Use of Drones ............................................................. 50 6. Forensic Videography ......................................................................... 54 6.1. CCTV Surveillance ............................................................. 54 6.2. Augmented Reality Survey Cameras ................................ 54 6.3. Body-Worn Video ............................................................. 56 6.4. Gait Analysis and Facial Recognition ............................... 58 7. Challenges for the Criminal Justice System ................................... 62 8. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 67 About the Author ............................................................................................... 69 References .......................................................................................................... 70 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The Bertillon system ........................................................................... 8 Figure 2. The three-shot rule of forensic photography (long-shot) ................ 14 Figure 3. The three-shot rule of forensic photography (middle-shot) ............ 15 Figure 4. The three-shot rule of forensic photography (close-up) ................. 16 Figure 5. Flash exposure (direct flash from the front) ..................................... 20 Figure 6. Painting with light ............................................................................. 21 Figure 7. Hair photographed using overhead lighting .................................... 23 Figure 8. Hair photographed using low-level side lighting ............................. 24 Figure 9. The electromagnetic spectrum of light ............................................ 27 Figure 10. Cheque photographed using visual light ........................................ 32 Figure 11. Cheque photographed using infrared light ...................................... 32 Figure 12. Raman Spectrograph ........................................................................ 35 Figure 13. Hyperspectral aerial image of crops ................................................ 42 Figure 14. LIDAR aerial photograph ................................................................. 47 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 1:1 Life-size magnification .mov Movie container format file .mp4 Motion Picture container format video file AR Augmented reality Brexit Britain exiting the European Union CBE Commander of the British Empire CCD Charge-coupled device CCTV Closed-circuit television CSI Crime scene investigator EU European Union GDP Gross domestic product GEO Geocache manager database file GeoTIFF Georeferenced tag image file format ICO Information Commission’s Office IR Infrared LANDSAT Land to satellite vii LCTF Liquid crystal tunable filter LIDAR Light detection and ranging NHS National Health Service OSC Office of Surveillance Commissioners PIP Professionalising Investigation Programme RIPA Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act SOCO Scenes of crime officer T Time camera setting UAV Unmanned aircraft vehicle UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime viii GLOSSARY OF TERMS Anthropometric A term to describe the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body. Ballistics The science or study of the motion of projectiles, such as bullets, shells or bombs. Bertillonage The system of making anthropometric measurements of criminals, as originally developed by Alphonse Bertillon. Bulb A setting of a camera that allows for the camera shutter to remain open for any length of time to enable long shutter speeds. Cantorial Relating to a cantor – a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation respond. Confocal Of one focus point. In optics, one focus or image point of one lens is the same as one focus of the next lens. Contraband Smuggled or stolen