A DEMS serves as a virtual command center to organize all the digital evidence a police agency gathers.
Fremont, CA: Police departments need help to handle an increasing amount of digital evidence each year. Communities today often have inexpensive digital closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems, and police and detectives handle more crime scene images, recorded interviews, and citizen-shared digital evidence.
Furthermore, many agencies have body-worn cameras (BWC) and in-car systems, which means that even small police calls require the management and archiving of high-resolution video. Police administrators must train officers on digital evidence proficiency, especially in retrieving and analyzing surveillance footage. Additionally, agencies need a system for gathering, storing, and managing digital evidence while abiding by local laws, regulations, and best practices.
A DEMS solution should have the following characteristics:
Secure and compliant
Storing a single duplicate of any file carries a big risk. It could be essential to use backup copies if the storage system fails or specific files are corrupted. Therefore, it is recommended that three copies, or at least two, be saved in various places and storage systems.
Digital evidence can be kept locally (on-site) by a DEMS, online, or in both locations. Agencies storing evidence must adhere to local laws and the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security policy.
Storage is agnostic and scalable.
One should select an adaptable DEMS that can work with many different kinds of storage. For instance, whereas bigger departments could choose to use more costly hybrid on-premise/cloud solutions, smaller departments might decide to keep their evidence internally on a Synology NAS. Additionally, the DEMS must be adaptable, enabling departments to daisy chain several storage solutions together or expand their storage capacity as needed.
Integrates with BWC systems
An apparatus for wearing body cameras (BWCs) is not a DEMS. Integrating DEMS and BWC solutions is becoming increasingly crucial as police agencies implement BWC systems. By combining these two platforms, investigators can gather all the digital evidence related to a case for evaluation.
Assistance with the smooth transfer of your digital evidence
A DEMS must have ongoing assistance to be deployed successfully. With a group of proficient installers and well-informed subject matter specialists, one can handle the proof independently or incur substantial support costs to receive assistance. A full-time staff committed to configuring and transferring your current digital evidence into the new system and offering continuous technical and expert support should be part of your selected DEMS solution.
