What is Video Forensics?
A witness may lie, a picture can deceive but a video is recorded evidence with which neither could disagree! Initially, before the digital era, the burden of proof of revealing the truth to an extent was shifted to the testimony of an eye witness. In such cases, if the eye witness is unsure of stating the fact or if he/she turns hostile or gives false testimony due to threats or bribery, the innocent lives could be compromised.
Now, in the digital era, one who watches everything is not just our eyes but another innocent eye witness that is a camera. One may find cameras everywhere, in our smartphones, computers, laptops or the other digital tool, CCTV which has taken over the offices, restaurants, homes, even streets, etc. These cameras in digital devices and CCTVs are silent observer and the crucial eye witness making digital evidence in case of a crime.
CCTVs record everything and in case of crimes like road accidents, theft, burglary, murder, rape, etc., they become crucial digital/electronic evidence that could not only show how the crime was committed but could also reveal the identity of the criminal. However, at times their camera quality is not optimal enough to show the true facts. In such cases, video enhancement is required. Further, as they are so important digital evidences, they tend to be erased and manipulated by the perpetrator. For this reason, any video recording or CCTV footage or such digital evidences needs to be checked for their integrity and authentication so as to become admissible in the court of law.
Video Forensics deals with the video recordings/ CCTV footage and other such digital evidences to identify them as relevant evidence in a case, extract them, processing, video enhancement, examination, video authentication to authenticate that the video evidence/digital evidence is mot manipulated or altered in any way, and report generation that is admissible in the court of law.
